The law provides minors with immunity against prosecution for underage drinking. However, the person who called for medical assistance would have to cooperate with certain requirements of the law. According to the article on njpsa.org "N.J. Grants Immunity To Teen Drinkers Who Seek Help For Another Intoxicated Teen" on October 4, up to three people can be protected by this law, as long as they are the first to call 911 and report the incident, provide their names to the operator, remain on the scene until assistance arrives, and cooperate with medical responders and law enforcement.

This is a good law that protects teens from making bad situations worse.

This law will enable teenagers to get medical assistance without fearing prosecution or punishment. Underage drinking or possession of alcohol is currently punishable by either a fine, six months in jail, or both, according to New Jersey state law.

The law is intended to be beneficial to teenagers. As stated by ncaddnj.org, more teenagers die from alcohol overdoses or drunk driving crashes than from all other causes combined. This law is expected to increase the chance that someone will call for medical assistance when it is needed.

"People who are already reckless probably won’t take this seriously," said Kitty Huang ’11. "But those who are more mature will be able to fix their mistake in a responsible way."

A similar law was passed in Colorado in 2005, intended to prevent deaths related to underage binge drinking, based on information from ncaddnj.org. Colorado also has a law that reduces the penalty that someone convicted of giving alcohol to a minor receives if they called for help to report that the underage person needed medical assistance as a result of consuming alcohol.

These types of laws have shown to be effective since they enable minors to receive appropriate help for their high-risk drinking, according to ncaddnj.org. The law also shows teenagers that giving medical assistance to those with alcohol-related health problems is more important than avoiding punishment for consuming alcohol. Its goal is also to prevent such incidents from reoccurring. Still, such a law has not been passed in New York.

"The government usually puts teenagers’ problems as secondary issues compared to economic problems and such," said Vivian Lin ’11.

However, according to the editorial on dailyprincetonian.com "Holding Out a Lifeline" on October 21, the law may not be enough to convince those involved to call for help because of its restrictions. Since there can only be at most three people granted immunity who must all be under the age of 21, the law may not be helpful in all the possible situations that teenagers may find themselves in. According to the editorial, the law needs to be improved in order to be fully effective.

Although some students believed the New Jersey law had several positive effects, such as saving lives and allowing people to get help without being afraid, they feel that if a similar law was passed in New York, it would be unsuccessful.

"I have confidence in the student body," said Sidra Ali ’11, "If they needed help, they wouldn’t just sit around. They would pick up the phone and call for help. If they do make a mistake, they’re smart enough to know who to call for help."