![](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-64.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
The governor of Louisiana says recreational marijuana legalization will likely happen in his state\u2014but he doesn\u2019t feel lawmakers will reach a consensus on the issue while he\u2019s still in office.<\/p>\n
Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), who signed legislation to decriminalize cannabis possession<\/a> a day earlier, said during a monthly radio appearance on Wednesday that a stalled broader legalization bill led by Republican sponsor this session \u201cactually got more traction with it than most people thought.\u201d<\/p>\n He also said<\/a> he thinks \u201cthere\u2019s a growing recognition that this is going to happen in Louisiana one day,\u201d though he and law enforcement agencies would hope to avoid the \u201cmistakes\u201d that other legal states have made in implementing the policy change.<\/p>\n Listen to the governor discuss marijuana, starting around 4:40 and 14:35 into the audio below:<\/strong><\/p>\n \ufeff<\/span>\n<\/p>\n The effort in the legislature to pass a bill to legalize recreational cannabis stalled in the House this session<\/a> after the chamber failed to pass a complementary measure on taxing adult-use marijuana. Edwards also said last month that he believes the reform \u201cis going to happen in Louisiana eventually<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the acknowledgement that legalization is likely to happen in Louisiana in the future, Edwards said on Wednesday that he doesn\u2019t expect that to occur in the immediate future.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s on the march, and that certainly might happen here in Louisiana,\u201d he said. However \u201cI would be surprised if there\u2019s a consensus in the legislature to do that while I\u2019m governor.\u201d (Edwards is term-limited and cannot run again in 2023\u2019s upcoming gubernatorial election.)<\/p>\n But in the meantime, the governor did sign legislation to decriminalize low-level possession of cannabis\u2014even if he disagrees with that characterization.<\/p>\n The bill would make possession of up to 14 grams of cannabis punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time, which fits advocates\u2019 definition of decriminalization. Even so, he pushed back on that definition in his signing statement and during Wednesday\u2019s interview.<\/p>\n \u2014 \u201cI think the headline is a little misleading\u2014and that\u2019s the way the press has treated this bill throughout,\u201d he said. \u201cIt remains illegal to be in possession of even small amounts of marijuana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt remains illegal\u2014but not to arrest, but you\u2019ll be issued a summons much like the traffic citation,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s the way this is going to work. And that really is the way this is developing across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you\u2019ll notice, it was supported by bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate,\u201d he continued. \u201cI think it just indicates that there\u2019s a change in thinking, and I think it\u2019s an extension of criminal justice reform as well. I don\u2019t believe we need people with small amounts of marijuana being held in jails and prisons at great cost to the taxpayer.\u201d<\/p>\n Louisiana lawmakers also sent Edwards a separate bill this month to let patients in the state\u2019s medical cannabis program\u00a0legally 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 In April, Edwards, who has historically expressed his opposition to ending prohibition, also said that\u00a0he 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 California Senator Previews Next Steps For Psychedelics Bill And Says It\u2019s A Step Toward Decriminalizing All Drugs<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n The post Louisiana Governor Says Marijuana Legalization Will Likely Happen In His State\u2014But Not While He\u2019s In Office<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
The governor of Louisiana says recreational marijuana legalization will likely happen in his state\u2014but he doesn\u2019t feel lawmakers will reach a consensus on the issue while he\u2019s still in office. Gov. John Bel Edwards (D), who signed legislation to decriminalize cannabis possession a day earlier, said during a monthly radioContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":48308,"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\/48307"}],"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=48307"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48307\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48309,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48307\/revisions\/48309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48308"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48307"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,100 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/MM_Bill_Tracker_V5_blank-63.jpg\"){kind=tracking}
<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n
\n
\nRead More: Louisiana Governor Says Marijuana Legalization Will Likely Happen In His State\u2014But Not While He\u2019s In Office<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"