The Erie County Legislature voted unanimously in favor of Legislator Dixon’s amended Social Host Law Thursday afternoon. The new law is an expansion of Legislator Dixon’s original Social Host Law which passed in 2014. The original law makes it illegal for parents or ‘social hosts’ to allow minors who are not their children to consume alcohol on their property, while the new law is amended to include opioids and other illegal substances.

“By passing the new Social Host Law, we are strengthening our fight against the drug and opioid epidemic we have been battling in Erie County,” said Legislator Dixon. “Any adult who knowingly allows children to use illegal substances on their property must be held accountable. I would like to thank my colleagues in the Legislature for coming together in support of this legislation as well as local law enforcement, Western New York United and the Erie County Council for Prevention of Alcohol and Substance Abuse for their support. Together, we are making Erie County a safer place for our children.”

The law would impose the following punishments, enforceable by any police agency in Erie County:
 
•         $250 fine for first time offenders
•         $500 fine for second offense
•         $1,000 fine or up to a year of jail time for third and subsequent offenders

A copy of the Social Host Law can be found here.