A bill to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use in Louisiana will become law after Gov. John Bel Edwards signed the legislation from Democratic Rep. Cedric Glover Tuesday.
“This is not a decision I took lightly,” Edwards said. “The state of Louisiana should no longer incarcerate people for minor legal infractions, especially those that are legal in many states, that can ruin lives and destroy families, as well as cost taxpayers.”
Although Edwards said the bill won’t technically “decriminalize” possession of small amounts of pot, the penalty would be less than most speeding tickets.
The bill would make possession of 14 grams or less — about half an ounce — a misdemeanor in all cases and limit the fine to $100 with no jail time. It takes effect Aug. 1.
Glover said he believes House Bill 652, which is based on a local ordinance passed in Shreveport, found a sweet spot with those whose attitudes about weed are evolving but who don’t yet support full legalization.
“One thing I think we can find common ground on is the belief that the possession of small amounts of marijuana should not lead you to jail or to become a felon,” Glover has said repeatedly. Glover formed a rare alliance with conservative Shreveport Republican Rep. Alan Seabaugh, whose amendment in the House set the parameters for penalties.
“It essentially provides for the officer to write a ticket with no jail time,” Seabaugh said then. Louisiana had been one of 19 states that haven’t either legalized pot or decriminalized it.
The bill does not alter the penalties for someone who is distributing marijuana, only for possession. A bill from Republican state Rep. Richard Nelson that would have legalized the sale and use of marijuana died in the House earlier in the session.
But a bill from Republican Houma Rep. Tanner Magee adding smokable cannabis to the state’s medical pot program options has already won final passage and also has the governor’s support.
“House Bill 652 it seeks to address a problem that I think many of us have recognized over the years,” Glover said in opening remarks, adding that while opinions on full marijuana legalization vary, there’s widespread acceptance that low-level possession should not lead to incarceration or felony convictions.
If the decriminalization bill is approved on the Senate floor without amendments it will head to the governor’s desk.
This development comes as Louisiana lawmakers consider a number of separate marijuana bills this session, including one that would allow patients to access smokeable cannabis products. That measure has also passed the House and is pending action on the Senate floor.
A complementary bill to tax flower marijuana is also set to be taken up by the Senate.
The House additionally passed a resolution on Monday requesting the legislature conduct a formal study on the impacts of recreational marijuana legalization prior to the start of the 2022 session.
While advocates are encouraged by the modest reforms advancing, there is disappointment that a bill to enact adult-use legalization was pulled by its sponsor this month after the House defeated a companion bill to tax recreational sales.
Just a day after a bill to legalize marijuana in Louisiana stalled in the state legislature, Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) said on his live radio program Wednesday that cannabis legalization “is going to happen in Louisiana eventually.”
“In the past, as a legislator and as governor, I’ve been opposed to legalizing recreational marijuana,” the governor said on the monthly program, Ask the Governor. “I will tell you, I have come to believe that it is going to happen in Louisiana eventually.”
Edwards stressed that while he isn’t yet endorsing legalization—he declined to take a position on pending legislation in the House—he wants to “make sure that we do it right.”
“I suspect you’re going to see a lot of interest and studying the other states and making sure that we have a clear path forward,” he said. “One of the things that I’ve always said is that before we do it here, we need to make sure we study and learn all the lessons to be learned.”
“I think there’s a growing number of people who are sort of where I am,” the governor continued, “not quite comfortable yet but understanding that we’re likely to get there.”
Last month, in a pivot from his years of quickly dismissing questions about legalization, Edwards said that he had “great interest” in a marijuana bill that had advanced out of a House committee just hours earlier. That proposal, however, hit a speed bump on Tuesday after the full House of Representatives rejected a complementary tax measure.
Despite the setback for legalization broadly, numerous other cannabis-related bills have been advancing in the conservative state this session. The House last week approved legislation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana, which is now awaiting Senate consideration.
A separate House-passed measure that is also before the Senate would give the state’s existing medical marijuana patients access to cannabis flower and permit them to lawfully smoke it. Currently patients are able to vaporize cannabis preparations via a “metered-dose inhaler,” but they cannot purchase whole-plant flower and smoking is not allowed.
Edwards proactively brought up both of those measure in the radio appearance on Wednesday, suggesting he is closely tracking them and is potentially open to signing the proposals if they reach his desk this session.
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A bid to expand Louisiana’s medical marijuana program to allow patients to smoke cannabis sailed through its first review Thursday, as a once-contentious program has become more entrenched as a legitimate medical treatment.
The House Health and Welfare Committee voted 12-1 with little debate for the expansion proposal offered by Houma Rep. Tanner Magee, the House’s second-ranking Republican. Support from the committee was bipartisan, representing a broad range of the political spectrum.
“This is wildly popular in every corner of the state. This is what people want. And it’s medication that people need,” Magee told the committee.
Louisiana’s dispensaries sell medical marijuana in liquids, topical applications, inhalers and edible gummies. But they are barred from offering raw marijuana in smokable form. Magee’s bill would legalize that as well for medicinal purposes, starting in January.
The proposal heads next to the full House for debate. Gov. John Bel Edwards, a Democrat who supported the creation of the medical marijuana program, signaled his likely backing for the measure.
“If a bill gets to my desk that expands the availability of medical marijuana and potentially expands the forms of marijuana that you can use for medicinal purposes, my inclination is to support it,” the governor said Thursday.
The raw, smokable marijuana plant is cheaper to manufacture and sell because it involves less processing. Magee said offering that option would help patients with chronic conditions who have trouble affording the products currently available in Louisiana’s medical marijuana pharmacies.
Committee Chairman Larry Bagley, a Republican from Stonewall, said a recent poll of voters in his district, which he described as “very conservative,” showed overwhelming support for the medical marijuana program to ease patients’ suffering and improve their quality of life.
“This is all about trying to make life better,” Bagley said.
The only lawmaker to vote against the measure was Rep. Robby Carter, a Democrat from Amite who represents a rural district. He didn’t speak about his opposition during the committee discussion of the bill.
