BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 568 into law, increasing penalties for marijuana use near schools and college campuses.
“Like most of you, I’m tired of going to our college and high school campuses and being inundated by the smell of marijuana,” Landry said.
Smoking marijuana within 2,000 feet of college campuses or any school has been illegal in Louisiana, but the new law increases penalties to up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Rep. Gabe Firment, author of the bill, said the law aims to change behavior at campus events.
“The environment really wasn’t conducive to families enjoying that experience and family and kid-friendly,” Firment said.
Concerns about enforcement and double standards
Marijuana lobbyist Kevin Caldwell said the law creates a double standard by not addressing alcohol use.
“The drinking age is 21. I can tell you I see lots of LSU students who are obviously under 21 drinking copious amounts of alcohol,” Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the language is vague and creates enforcement risks.
“Sadly, I think what we are going to see is a return to poor and working-class people and people of color who are going to bear the brunt of a felony charge,” Caldwell said.
LSU student Jaden Wilson said secondhand smoke is a concern.
“A lot of people have illnesses that affect the lungs, so secondhand smoke is really a big thing, and I think being under the influence of things like weed could lead to bad decisions, especially when it’s so packed,” Wilson said.
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore said he does not expect a significant increase in cases.
“I don’t look at the number of arrests we get for LSU football games — they are minimal. Normally for fights. Rarely do we get any other types of things than fights that cause a lot of damage. We don’t get a lot of cases but hear a lot of complaints,” Moore said.
In order to enforce the penalties, an officer would have to witness someone smoking or vaping marijuana. Moore said that could be difficult to prove in court.
