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NORML
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry has signed legislation (House Bill 165) into law removing the threat of jail time for the possession of marijuana-related paraphernalia.
Currently, possessing cannabis paraphernalia is punishable by up to 15 days in jail and a $300 fine. Under the new law, first-time offenders will face a $100 fine. Second-time offenders will face a $500 fine. The new law takes effect on August 1, 2024.
“State law already recognizes that no one should be in jail for possessing small amounts of marijuana; this new law similarly recognizes that no one should be in jail for possessing marijuana paraphernalia,” NORML”s Deputy Director Paul Armentano said.
Gov. Landry signed the law just hours after vetoing separate legislation, House Bill 391, that sought to provide the executive branch with the ability to grant expedited pardons to those convicted of a first-time marijuana possession offense. The Governor opined that the bill was “an attempt to have Louisiana accept President Biden’s invitation to the states to join his soft-on-crime, no-consequences-for-criminals agenda.”
Governor Landry previously signed legislation (SB 228) into law privatizing the commercial cultivation of medical cannabis. Two public universities had previously held the exclusive rights to grow cannabis for the state’s medical program. Nearly 40,000 Louisianans are registered with the state to access medicinal cannabis products.
The state’s prior Governor, Democrat John Bel Edwards, signed several bills in recent years liberalizing the state’s marijuana laws — including legislation removing the threat of jail time for low-level marijuana possession offenses, barring police from conducting a warrantless searches of persons’ places of residence based solely upon the odor of cannabis, protecting qualified patients from discrimination in the workplace, and facilitating expungement relief for those with certain marijuana-related convictions.
Louisiana: Governor Signs Legislation Decriminalizing Possession of Marijuana Paraphernalia
