Hi Robt,
I can appreciate anyone's concerns about laser safety. Any laser of any strength (including <0.9mW) is capable of distracting a driver in a vehicle. That is why laws exist to discourage such mischief. 10 years ago kids were throwing stones at cars which is probably just as foolish. Though it's possible to cause harm to one's self with a laser under <25mW, it arguably requires fairly close proximity to the aperture and certain conditions to be met in order to cause eye damage. However, when exceeding this output (anything beyond and above <25mW), there's a likely a more serious risk to other people. Most especially with lasers around the <50mW and upwards range since these can actively burn dark surfaces up close.
When <5mW laser pointers dropped below the $100 mark in the early 1990's, they were seen as (and unfortunately became) "toys" for children. When they dropped to under $29, they were openly sold to children in markets etc... and THIS was when they began to be used for public mischief. They showed up in cinemas, they were shone at vehicles and were used to torment other children etc. To date, based on a recent series of investigations, there are NO legitimate confirmed cases of ocular laser damage from these lower powered lasers. And now, due to these earlier incidents with the lower powered lasers, laws have been passed to control what can be sold to the public and restrictions came into effect.
The benefits of the more powerful lasers (over <5mW) being more expensive is that children really can't afford them. And the highest powered lasers seem to be the most attractive to them yet the high cost is proving to be prohibitive. Online techniques such as using a credit card to purchase them is just one of the ways suppliers restrict the purchase to people who are deemed to be adults. I myself would NOT want a kid pointing a <70mW laser at me, even from a "safe" distance (based on beam divergence and intensity). Another great idea is to differentiate between the higher and lower powered lasers: anything hand-held that is under <5mW is called a "pointer" and anything hand-held and over >5mW cannon be referred to as a pointer... and is often called a "module" or "device". Websites like this one are ideal for informative reasons since anyone (including myself) shopping online for something like this can find an abundance of information informing us of potential risks etc.
The <5mW pointer that you use can indeed be used for Starpointing and I used to use my own <5mW Leadlight laser for this very purpose. But the beam is fairly faint and if you are doing a bit of Astronomy (and if it's within your consideration), you might consider looking at the <25mW-<30mW laser as it's brightness of beam is considerably stronger than the one you are currently using. You need very dark and ideal conditions to see a <5mW beam compared to the higher output versions. Astronomy suppliers here (in Australia) were particularly fond of <20mW lasers for their customer base but have since been forced to stop selling them. We're still allowed to purchase them from overseas for our own use though. This effectively keeps them away from children and to a larger degree it keeps them off the streets.
I don't mind the application of a 21/18 age restriction. Although the majority of abusers seem to be below the 16 year old bracket.
