Marijuana fight returning to Legislature this session

Kaleb Causey

State Rep. Dalton Honoré, D-Baton Rouge, is looking to Colorado as he prepares for the fight in the Legislature over upcoming marijuana legislation.

“As we speak, I’m in Colorado now talking with legislators and policy advisers to see how the program is going in Colorado,” he said Thursday. “They’ve seen a huge tax increase. I’m just trying to get some facts and figures together. The crime rate has gone down. Traffic fatalities have had a tremendous drop. The arrests of possession of marijuana has dropped from more than 30,000 annually to 2,000. Colorado has accumulated $60 million from the taxes.”

Honoré has written two pieces of legislation addressing marijuana for the session, which begins Monday. The first, House Bill 6, would allow for the distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes throughout the state.

“It’s the law already in the state of Louisiana,” he said. “Medical marijuana was passed in 1991. But they never figured out a mechanism to get it to the people. There’s no way to secure it. That’s been a problem for 24 years.”

HB6 sets up a method for that distribution. House Bill 117, the second bill he wrote, would provide for an election to be held concurrently with the presidential election in 2016 to allow voters to decide whether or not to legalize and tax marijuana.

“(Legislators) tell me they can support it but they can’t come out publicly. That’s what’s killing the bill. That’s why I’m trying to take another bill. HB117, to the Legislature. Let’s give it to the people to vote on if they want marijuana in all forms.”

However, opponents to marijuana legalization say it is irresponsible.

State Sen. Bob Kostelka, R-Monroe, has garnered quite a reputation as an anti-marijuana advocate.

“I’m against it wholeheartedly,” he said. “With all the things that are going on, do we need another crutch for society? There’s no way that marijuana should be legalized in this state, or anywhere as far as I’m concerned. We’ve got enough social problems, and we don’t need to add another one.”

According to a study done by LSU’s Public Policy Research Lab, 60 percent of Louisiana residents support medical marijuana, while 45 percent support full legalization.

Honoré said the issue should be left up to the people.

“Let’s take it to the people and let the people decide if they want it or not,” he said. “(Legislators are) not voting for it or against it. They would be voting to give it to the people.”

Kostelka said he won’t be voting for legalizing marijuana in any form, medical or recreational, and refuted claims that it should be left up to the people.

“It’s a gateway drug,” he said. “It’s been proven that people who use marijuana cannot do without it. Look even at Colorado. They’ve had an increase in DUIs and more accidents. It doesn’t make any sense to me.

“That’s what they ask us to go down to the Legislature for — to study things and not have a knee jerk reaction,” he said.

Honoré’s bills are two of five that face the Legislature concerning marijuana legalization. A bill similar to his medical marijuana bill has been introduced in the Senate. There’s also a bill in each chamber that would ease the criminal punishments for possession.

The same study showed a large support for easing sentencing for possession with 67 percent of residents saying people convicted of possessing small amounts of the drug should not serve jail time. That number jumped to 79 percent when the respondents were told the cost of incarceration.

Honoré said the incoming taxes from legalization would be huge and there would be a major economic impact.

“(Marijuana criminalization has) caused a tremendous amount of drain on our economy with our incarceration,” he said. “As you know, Louisiana is the prison capital of the world.”

Follow @Kaleb_Causey on Twitter.