{"id":47380,"date":"2021-04-28T07:13:33","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T15:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/04\/28\/louisiana-governor-says-he-has-great-interest-in-marijuana-legalization-bill-advancing-in-legislature\/"},"modified":"2021-04-28T13:45:42","modified_gmt":"2021-04-28T21:45:42","slug":"louisiana-governor-says-he-has-great-interest-in-marijuana-legalization-bill-advancing-in-legislature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2021\/04\/28\/louisiana-governor-says-he-has-great-interest-in-marijuana-legalization-bill-advancing-in-legislature\/","title":{"rendered":"Louisiana Governor Says He Has \u2018Great Interest\u2019 In Marijuana Legalization Bill Advancing In Legislature"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

The governor of Louisiana said on Tuesday that he has \u201cgreat interest\u201d in a marijuana legalization bill that advanced out of a House committee<\/a> hours earlier\u2014a notable departure from his typical dismissive response to questions about the policy change.<\/p>\n

While Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) isn\u2019t endorsing the legislation at this point, he stressed he would closely look at its provisions if it arrives on his desk. Historically, when asked about adult-use legalization, he has tended to flatly express opposition. But this time, as lawmakers in the Republican-led legislature are advancing the reform, the Democratic governor seemed to leave the door open to potentially embracing it.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I almost always do, I will take a look at the bill as it arrives on my desk and see what it contains and what amendments have been added to it,\u201d the governor said. \u201cI\u2019m not going to speculate now on that, but I do have great interest in that bill and what it says, especially if it does make it up to the fourth floor. I\u2019ll take a look at it at that point and then make sure that you all know exactly how I feel about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It remains to be seen if the legalization bill, which cleared the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee on Tuesday and now heads to the floor, will make it to Edwards\u2019s desk. But its passage through one panel so far, along with a separate decriminalization proposal, signals that reform does stand a chance in the traditionally conservative legislature this session.<\/p>\n

Edwards has been an anomaly among Democratic governors in his steadfast opposition to legalization. He\u2019s signed legislation to expand the state\u2019s medical cannabis program and support the hemp industry, but he\u2019s consistently drawn the line there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just not in favor of legalizing marijuana,\u201d he said in November 2018, adding that he would like to see how other states have fared after regulating cannabis.<\/p>\n

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.@LouisianaGov<\/a> received his monthly call about marijuana: This one about recreational legalization. \u201cI\u2019m just not in favor of legalizing marijuana.\u201d Says wants to see results from other states. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Elizabeth Crisp (@elizabethcrisp) November 20, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m just not comfortable\u201d with legalization, he also said that year.<\/p>\n

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“I’m just not comfortable.” \u2013 @LouisianaGov<\/a> says of legal, recreational marijuana. He answers this question on a monthly basis. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Julie O’Donoghue (@JSODonoghue) September 19, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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At one point when asked about legalization, the governor simply pointed out that Louisiana was no longer the state that incarcerates the most people per capita.<\/p>\n

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In response to regular marijuana question, @louisianagov<\/a> announced Louisiana is no longer the top incarcerating state for first time in decades. Now it’s Oklahoma. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Elizabeth Crisp (@elizabethcrisp) June 20, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Reporters pointed out that Edwards\u2019s stated opposition to legalization became a monthly tradition on a radio show where people could call in and ask him questions.<\/p>\n

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Here’s the monthly question about legalizing marijuana. @LouisianaGov<\/a> again says he doesn’t support legalized recreational marijuana, but supports medical marijuana. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Melinda Deslatte (@MelindaDeslatte) October 17, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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As he says every month, @LouisianaGov<\/a> says he’s not supportive of the legalization of recreational marijuana in Louisiana. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/2mtnXo9n39<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Melinda Deslatte (@MelindaDeslatte) June 20, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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And here’s our monthly question about recreational marijuana. @LouisianaGov<\/a> does not support legal recreational marijuana \u2014 as he says every month on this radio show. #lalege<\/a> #lagov<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Julie O’Donoghue (@JSODonoghue) May 16, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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That\u2019s what makes Tuesday\u2019s new comments stand out. Given the opportunity to reiterate his opposition to the reform proposal, he instead insisted that he\u2019d give it real consideration.<\/p>\n

The legislation he was asked about is being sponsored by Rep. Richard Nelson (R). It would allow adults 21 and older to purchase and possess marijuana from licensed retailers. Possession of up to two and a half pounds of cannabis would be lawful. Regulators would be tasked with creating a permit for adults to grow up to six plants for personal use.<\/p>\n

During Tuesday\u2019s committee hearing, there was significant discussion among lawmakers dedicated to polling that shows Louisiana voters strongly support legalizing marijuana<\/a>, as well as the seeming inevitability of the policy change taking place given the spread of the state-level reform movement across the country.<\/p>\n

Nelson\u2019s bill<\/a>\u00a0does not lay out a tax structure for the regulated cannabis market, but complementary\u00a0legislation<\/a> that he\u2019s also sponsoring would fill in that gap. It\u2019s been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, where it will receive a hearing on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The House Agriculture Committee will also consider an additional marijuana legalization proposal<\/a> that day.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a bill to allow medical marijuana patients in Louisiana\u00a0to access raw cannabis flower<\/a> cleared a key House committee last week. The full chamber also recently approved complementary legislation on taxing those products if they are legalized.<\/p>\n

The legislation would amend the state\u2019s existing medical cannabis law to make it so physicians may recommend raw marijuana products intended for inhalation. Dispensaries could sell up to two and a half ounces of flower cannabis to each patient in a 14-day period.<\/p>\n

Last year, the legislature significantly expanded the state\u2019s medical marijuana program by passing a bill that allows physicians to recommend cannabis to patients for any debilitating condition that they deem fit instead of from the limited list of maladies that\u2019s used under current law.<\/p>\n

Edwards signed the measure in June 2020<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0it took effect weeks later<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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USDA Is Developing Hemp-Based Cosmetics And Personal Care Products<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of WeedPornDaily<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Louisiana Governor Says He Has \u2018Great Interest\u2019 In Marijuana Legalization Bill Advancing In Legislature<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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The governor of Louisiana said on Tuesday that he has \u201cgreat interest\u201d in a marijuana legalization bill that advanced out of a House committee hours earlier\u2014a notable departure from his typical dismissive response to questions about the policy change. While Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) isn\u2019t endorsing the legislation atContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81,126],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47380"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47380"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47380\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47381,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47380\/revisions\/47381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}