Edwards signs bill reforming marijuana laws

BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards signed House Bill 652 Tuesday, which will eliminate jail or prison time as a penalty for possession of 14 grams or less of marijuana, Louisiana Progress said in a release.
The measure, which was authored by Rep. Cedric Glover, also will reduce the fine for that offense to a maximum of $100 or a court summons.
House Bill 652 will go into effect Aug. 1 and will make Louisiana the first state in the Deep South and only the second state in the South to significantly reform its criminal laws regarding marijuana.
“In a period during our country’s history when consensus evades us on so many important issues, the Louisiana Legislature found common ground this year around the belief that the possession of small amounts of marijuana should no longer lead to either jail time or becoming a felon,” Glover said in the news release. “This consensus would not have been possible without the leadership of Reps. C. Denise Marcelle, Alan Seabaugh, Candace Newell, Richard Nelson, Sen. Jay Luneau, Louisiana Progress, all of my colleagues who voted in favor of HB652 and the legions of Louisiana citizens who reached out and encouraged them to do so. Going forward, I hope that we can build upon the common ground we have found and move even closer to the more just and equitable Louisiana that we all deserve.”
Louisiana Progress Policy & Advocacy Director Peter Robins-Brown said in the release: “This is a huge step forward in the movement to reform our criminal legal system. No one and no part of our society benefits from criminalizing people for possessing small amounts of marijuana. The current system of punishment has had a particularly negative effect on younger, poorer and blacker and browner folks, who represent the groups most likely to be targeted for harsh punishments for marijuana possession.”
Edwards said in a statement that despite the media’s and other’s idea, this bill does not “decriminalize” the act of possessing 14 grams or less of marijuana.
“Instead, anyone convicted of this crime will now be subject to a maximum penalty of $100 instead of being exposed to parish prison time,” he said. “This is not a decision I took lightly. In 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. This measure passed Louisiana’s Legis-lature with bipartisan support following a robust discussion of the toll of over incarceration on our people and our state. Taking this action is another step forward for Louisiana’s criminal justice reform efforts.”