re: A bill for marijuana legalization being heard at the Capitol today

SB 143 passed in the Louisiana legislature Monday. This bill would allow those with a doctor's prescription to obtain the drug in a non-smokeable from at one of 10 dispensaries in the state. It authorizes one growing site within the state. It also restricts the use of medical marijuana to patients suffering from glaucoma, spastic quadriplegia and for those undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

This bill passed mainly because the Louisiana sheriffs association signed off on it. The reason why they signed off on it this time is becausethe head of the Sheriff's Association having a change of heart because of a colleague's daughter with cancer's advocacy for it. As soon as they support it, it passes.
This just goes to show, more than anything else, that the Sheriff's Association is in full control of this issue, not the legislature, not the senate, and certainly not the people.
Funny, I always thought the sheriff's association and law enforcement's job was to enforce laws. When did they start creating laws? Why are they even involved in this entire process? Why should the sheriff's association decide which medical conditions are deserving of a certain medicine and what method of administering that medicine is appropriate? Sounds like it should be a discussion between a doctor and a patient.

Law enforcement has a vested interest to keep cannibis illegal. They get money from the DOJ to fight cannabis and other drug use. Since cannabis is the easiest to arrest people for they get a lot of kudos and money from the feds. They also get all that forfeited personal property, yes the police can steal at their whim. Who would want to shut off that cash cow?

The private prison industry is in continuous need of new customers and makes generous contributions to state legislatures governors and the state judiciaries. Marijuana arrests have been a steady cash cow for decades to the private prison industry. Louisiana has the highest incarceration rate in the WORLD. Opposition to marijuana reform and prison reform is purely financial.

Law enforcement doesn't want it legalize because they will lose millions of dollars from the DEA that they get for arresting cannabis offenders. Not to mention the money they get from assist forfeiture of those arrested. It's all about the money people.

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is to commission a study that shows what percentage of the Sheriif's departments, district attorney and parish budgets come from fines paid for petty drug crimes. Then cross reference that with the socioeconomic demographics of the offenders. Then give projections of what a taxed marijuana system would yield. I think a taxed system would open up the revenue pool considerably.

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Yeah math, that will get people motivated.

fricking nerd.

The Legislature needs to allow licensed physicians to decide what illnesses it should be prescribed for per medical science. This law is clearly too restrictive since they leave out too many illnesses for which it might provide treatment. Let medical science and valid studies decide its use.

Limiting medication to a small percentage of treatments that it can be used for is absurd. It's like only handing out Ibuprofen to people with headaches. Politicians making medical decisions, what go possibly go wrong with that?

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all alcohol users & pot smokers are lazy, unemployed burn outs

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FIFY

The party that has the most to lose here are the police. No fines, asset seizures or prison time.

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This is where it will ultimately fail. Jindal is on a conservative crusade. No way he'll sign this.

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Jindal needs to be count punted by someone wearing steel toed boots.

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Someone has to be a realist...I don't know any "productive" potheads...

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If that is the case then you must live a sheltered life.

I know of plenty of them. Besides, the jails are overcrowded as it is, and they are having to release less serious offenders in order to take in the more serious offenders. At the very least, it's time to decriminalize it for those over 21. It is not the gateway drug that some would want to have you believe. I am a hell of a lot more concerned about the increased use of heroin than I am about grass. As there has been a clamp down on how hydrocodone is scripted out, more and more are turning to heroin dealers for pain relief or a fix. That stuff is a hell of a lot more dangerous.