SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Summer is quickly approaching meaning the school season’s coming to an end. Of course, for many local high school seniors, that means graduation.

The Hampden District Attorney’s Office issued a warning to parents Tuesday: while you may want to celebrate with your children, allowing underage drinking or marijuana use at home can have serious criminal and civil consequences under state law.

Providing alcohol or marijuana to a person under 21 is punishable by up to a year in jail plus a $2,000 fine. Caretakers can face civil liability if an underage person consumes either at their home and later results injury or death to themselves or others. Civil judgments in these cases can reach millions of dollars.

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