Gov. Landry rejects easier pardon process for minor marijuana offenses
8th July 2024 · 0 Comments
By Julie O’Donoghue
Contributing Writer
(lailluminator.com) — Gov. Jeff Landry vetoed legislation that would have made it easier for him and future governors to pardon people for minor marijuana possession convictions. He said the proposal reflected a “soft-on-crime” attitude and alleged it violated the state constitution.
Under House Bill 391, by Rep. Delisha Boyd, D-New Orleans, the governor would have been able to bypass the traditional pardon process to clear the criminal records of people who met a narrow definition of a marijuana offender.
Democrats outside Louisiana have used similar laws to issue mass pardons. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore ordered more than 175,000 pardons for marijuana offenses earlier this month. President Joe Biden also gave out thousands of pardons for minor marijuana offenses at the end of last year.
If Boyd’s bill had gone into law, people would have qualified for the accelerated pardon only if they had been convicted of possessing 14 grams or less of marijuana or related products. Fourteen grams of marijuana is the equivalent of approximately 28 joints, an amount small enough that it is considered for “personal use,” as opposed to drug dealing.
The legislation is in keeping with bipartisan efforts to loosen Louisiana’s marijuana laws in recent years. The state already allows residents to possess the drug legally with a medical marijuana prescription.
In 2021, former Gov. John Bel Edwards and the Republican-controlled Legislature also significantly lowered penalties for possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana.
Now, people caught with 14 grams or less of the substance face a $100 fine as a penalty and no jail time, even if they are ticketed for the crime multiple times. Prior to 2021, they faced up to $300 and 15 days in jail for a first-time marijuana possession offense and they could be jailed for up to six months for a second infraction. They were eligible for eight years of incarceration after being caught four times.
But Landry painted Boyd’s pardon bill as part of a partisan agenda.
“House Bill 391 appears to be an attempt to have Louisiana accept President Biden’s invitation to the states to join his soft-on-crime, no-consequences-for-criminals agenda,” Landry wrote a letter explaining his veto. “On behalf of Louisiana and her great people, I decline such an invitation and will continue to fight to strengthen our criminal justice system and the rule of law in Louisiana.
Boyd was taken aback by the implication that she wanted to be lax on criminals, especially after she co-sponsored another bill allowing judges to order the physical castration of sex offenders.
Her bill also got through the Legislature with several Republican legislators’ support. Lawmakers voted 31-7 in the Senate and 63-30 in the House for the proposal.
“Do we want to make everything about party here?” Boyd said in an interview Friday. “I’ve never said I want to be like Biden.”
The Democrat sponsored the measure so Landry and future governors would be empowered to give people with minor marijuana convictions a second chance. Criminal records, even for minor offenses, make it more difficult for people to get housing and certain types of jobs, she said.
Marijuana has also become mainstream. Most Americans live in a state where recreational use of the drug is legal. Twenty-four states and Washington D.C. permit it. Another 14 states, including Louisiana, allow for medical marijuana, according to the Pew Research Center.
“Marijuana is recognized as a medicine in our state,” said Peter Robbins-Brown, the executive director of Louisiana Progress, a left-leaning advocacy organization that supported Boyd’s bill. “These are not folks who have been convicted of a dangerous crime. These are minor offenses.”
In his veto letter, Landry also argued the bill should be thrown out because it violated the Louisiana Constitution. The legislation would have allowed the governor to issue pardons without a recommendation from the Louisiana Board of Pardons, which the state constitution requires, he said.
The governor also said an exception in the state constitution already covers many of the people Boyd was seeking to give relief. It permits people who have been convicted of one nonviolent offense to automatically receive pardons at the end of their sentences.
Boyd’s legislation would have captured a larger swath of the community. Her bill applied to people who have been convicted possessing a small amount of marijuana, regardless of whether it was a first-time offense or if they had been found guilty of another crime.
Though Landry vetoed the bill, he signed into law another piece of legislation Boyd authored that lowered criminal penalties for possessing marijuana paraphernalia, such as a bong.
This article originally published in the July 8, 2024 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
