Louisiana lawmakers are gearing up for another push to legalize marijuana in the state, with at least two proposals now filed to enact cannabis-related reform this session.
Rep. Candace Newell (D)—who has made repeated attempts to end criminalization—discussed her latest legislation in an interview with Louisiana First News that aired on Saturday, describing a proposed three-year pilot program that is "designed to test and evaluate parameters of the implementation of a permanent adult-use cannabis program," according to a legislative analysis.
"Aside of just wanting to have legalized recreational marijuana, I'm also looking at another revenue source in the state of Louisiana," Newell said. "I'm talking about statewide, across the board, education on the product—the use of the product, the dangers of it and how it can be beneficial."
The sponsor added that, from her perspective, "what we've seen is the states where they've done just the full blanket legalization and regulation that that is failing." At the same time, she emphasized the potential revenue stream from legalizing and taxing cannabis for adults.
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