Title:
La.: Bill to reduce marijuana penalties voted out of committee
Message:
Good news! Rep. Austin Badon’s HB 103, a bill that would reduce marijuana possession penalties for second and subsequent offenses, advanced out of the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice on May 1. The bill now awaits a vote on the House floor.
Please continue urging your legislators to support HB 103.
Louisiana has some of the harshest marijuana laws in the country. Rep. Badon’s proposal would change the maximum sentence for a second possession offense to one year rather than five; a third offense would carry a two-year maximum sentence instead of 20; and the maximum sentence for a fourth offense would be set at five years rather than life. In addition to lowering penalties and possible incarceration time for marijuana possession offenses, the proposal would also remove marijuana possession from the list of offenses that receive mandatory minimum sentences. Please ask your legislators to support this sensible proposal. Then, ask your friends and family to do the same.
