Louisiana Lawmaker Proposes Marijuana Legalization Pilot Program As ‘Revenue Source’ For The State

Louisiana lawmakers are gearing up for another push to legalize marijuana in the state, with at least two proposals now filed to enact cannabis-related reform this session.

Rep. Candace Newell (D)—who has made repeated attempts to end criminalization—discussed her latest legislation in an interview with Louisiana First News that aired on Saturday, describing a proposed three-year pilot program that is “designed to test and evaluate parameters of the implementation of a permanent adult-use cannabis program,” according to a legislative analysis.

“Aside of just wanting to have legalized recreational marijuana, I’m also looking at another revenue source in the state of Louisiana,” Newell said. “I’m talking about statewide, across the board, education on the product—the use of the product, the dangers of it and how it can be beneficial.”

The sponsor added that, from her perspective, “what we’ve seen is the states where they’ve done just the full blanket legalization and regulation that that is failing.”

At the same time, she emphasized the potential revenue stream from legalizing and taxing cannabis for adults.

“We can have that additional revenue and continue to stand up and support the programs that we already have in place—and not constantly putting the funding of those programs on the back of our taxpayers,” she said.

Under the legislation, the Louisiana Department of Health would be responsible for overseeing the pilot program, which would be designed to evaluate “potential challenges, limitations, or risks that could arise before a potential permanent rollout.”

The idea would be to provide an “opportunity to gather real-time feedback and data to assess the effectiveness of the temporary pilot program and potential permanent program, as well as identifying any unintended consequences.”

Only existing medical cannabis dispensaries that were licensed as of August 1, 2022 in select regions would be eligible to participate in the pilot program.

“No later than ninety days before the commencement of the pilot program, each retail permit holder in a region authorized… shall notify the department of its intent to participate in the pilot program and identify one retail location in the region that will participate in the pilot program,” the bill text says. “The designated retail location may serve qualified patients purchasing recommended marijuana for therapeutic use and consumers of adult-use cannabis.”

Meanwhile, another measure filed this session, sponsored by Rep. Edmond Jordan (D), would also set the state up for an adult-use marijuana legalization program. However, the intent of the legislation is to create the tax infrastructure for a legal marketplace, without detailing core components of the system.

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The bill filings come nearly a year after the Republican governor of Louisiana signed bills to decriminalize marijuana paraphernalia and enact restrictions on the hemp market.

That came on the same day that Gov. Jeff Landry (R) vetoed a measure that would have allowed him and future governors to issue pardons for people with past cannabis convictions, he gave final approval to the paraphernalia decriminalization proposal from Rep. Delisha Boyd (D).

As it stands in Louisiana, possession of up to 14 grams (or half an ounce) of marijuana is decriminalized, punishable by a $100 fine without the threat of jail time.

In 2022, former Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) also signed into law a measure that was designed to streamline expungements for people with first-time marijuana possession convictions.

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