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The governor of Louisiana on Tuesday signed a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is not a decision I took lightly,\u201d Gov. John Bell Edwards (D) said in a statement. \u201cIn addition to carefully reviewing the bill, I also believe deeply that 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 greatly.\u201d<\/p>\n Gov. Edwards released the following statement today, upon signing House Bill 652 by Representative Cedric Glover, which reduces the penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana. #lagov<\/a> #lalege<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/HqjoBa0WZv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 John Bel Edwards (@LouisianaGov) June 15, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n That said, he challenged the \u201cnarrative\u201d that the legislation actually decriminalizes low-level cannabis possession, emphasizing that possessing up to 14 grams of marijuana does carry a $100 fine under the bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n But replacing the threat of incarceration with a modest fine does fit the definition of decriminalization used by reform advocates.<\/p>\n \u201cThis measure passed Louisiana\u2019s Legislature with bipartisan support following a robust discussion of the toll of over incarceration on our people and our state,\u201d Edwards said<\/a>. \u201cTaking this action is another step forward for Louisiana\u2019s criminal justice reform efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n Louisiana lawmakers also sent Edwards a separate bill this month to let patients in the state\u2019s medical cannabis program legally smoke whole-plant marijuana flower<\/a>. He hasn\u2019t weighed in on that proposal yet, but he\u2019s previously cited it as an example of the type of incremental reform he expected to advance.<\/p>\n \u2014 There was an effort in the legislature to pass a bill to legalize adult-use cannabis this session, but it stalled in the House<\/a>\u00a0after the chamber failed to pass a complementary measure on taxing recreational marijuana. Edwards did say last month that he believes the reform\u00a0\u201cis going to happen in Louisiana eventually<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, Edwards, who has historically expressed his opposition to ending prohibition, also said that he had \u201cgreat interest\u201d in the legalization proposal<\/a>, and he pledged to take a serious look at its various provisions.<\/p>\n Last year, the Louisiana 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\u00a0signed the measure in June 2020<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0it took effect weeks later<\/a>.<\/p>\n The developments on various cannabis-related legislation come after recent polling showed that constituents in some of the most firmly Republican districts in the state\u00a0support legalizing marijuana.<\/a><\/p>\n Two other recent polls\u2014including one personally commissioned by a top Republican lawmaker\u2014have found that\u00a0a majority of voters are in favor of legalizing cannabis<\/a>\u00a0for adult use.<\/p>\n First-Ever Congressional Bill To Decriminalize All Drugs Announced Ahead Of Nixon Drug War Anniversary<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n Photo courtesy of Brian Shamblen<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n The post Louisiana Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Into Law<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of Louisiana on Tuesday signed a bill to decriminalize marijuana possession. \u201cThis is not a decision I took lightly,\u201d Gov. John Bell Edwards (D) said in a statement. \u201cIn addition to carefully reviewing the bill, I also believe deeply that the state of Louisiana should no longer incarcerateContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48258,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48257"}],"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=48257"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48257\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48259,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48257\/revisions\/48259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48257"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48257"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48257"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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\nRead More: Louisiana Governor Signs Marijuana Decriminalization Bill Into Law<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"