BATON ROUGE, La. (May 9, 2019) – Yesterday, a Louisiana House Committee unanimously passed a bill to legalize marijuana for personal use in the state and take another step toward nullifying federal cannabis prohibition in effect.
Rep. Edmond Jordan (D-Baton Rouge) and Rep. Edward James (D-Baton Rouge) introduced House Bill 564 (HB564) in March. The legislation would create a regulatory and licensing structure for the cultivation, production and sale of marijuana in the state. The proposed law would also create “personal cultivation permits” that would allow adults over 21 to grow marijuana on their own property and possess it for personal use.
On May 8, the House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development passed HB564 by an 11-0 vote with a recommendation to refer the measure to the House Judiciary Committee.
While marijuana continues to gain popular acceptance and many states have legalized cannabis for both medical and recreational use, the federal government still maintains absolute prohibition of cannabis.
LEGALITY
Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) passed in 1970, the federal government maintains complete prohibition of marijuana. Of course, the federal government lacks any constitutional authority to ban or regulate marijuana within the borders of a state, despite the opinion of the politically connected lawyers on the Supreme Court. If you doubt this, ask yourself why it took a constitutional amendment to institute federal alcohol prohibition.
Louisiana legalized medical marijuana in 2015, but there wasn’t any viable program in the state until the passage of two laws the following year. In 2018, the state expanded the program. Passage of HB564 would remove another significant layer of laws prohibiting the possession and use of marijuana, but federal prohibition would remain in place.
FBI statistics show that law enforcement makes approximately 99 of 100 marijuana arrests under state, not federal law. By curtailing state prohibition, Alabama could sweep part of the basis for 99 percent of marijuana arrests.
Furthermore, figures indicate it would take 40 percent of the DEA’s yearly annual budget just to investigate and raid all of the dispensaries in Los Angeles – a single city in a single state. That doesn’t include the cost of prosecution either. The lesson? The feds lack the resources to enforce marijuana prohibition without state assistance.
A GROWING MOVEMENT
Louisiana is among a growing number of states simply ignoring federal prohibition, and nullifying it in practice.
Colorado, Washington state, Oregon and Alaska were the first states to legalize recreational cannabis, and California, Nevada, Maine and Massachusetts joined them after ballot initiatives in favor of legalization passed in November 2016. In 2018, Michigan voters approved recreational marijuana and Vermont became the first state to fully legalize marijuana through a legislative act.
With 33 states including allowing cannabis for medical use, the feds find themselves in a position where they simply can’t enforce prohibition anymore.
“The lesson here is pretty straightforward. When enough people say, ‘No!’ to the federal government, and enough states pass laws backing those people up, there’s not much the feds can do to shove their so-called laws, regulations or mandates down our throats,” Tenth Amendment Center founder and executive director Michael Boldin said.
WHAT’S NEXT
HB564 will likely be referred to the House Judiciary Committee where it will need to pass by a majority vote before moving forward in the legislative process.
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