A Louisiana law decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana took effect this past weekend amid hopeful statements from supporters that the policy change would reduce financial burdens on the state’s justice system.
Act 247, which took effect Aug. 1, makes possession of up to 14 grams of marijuana subject to a fine of $100 or less or a court summons. The law also provides that those guilty of such offenses cannot receive jail time, even if they have a record of multiple arrests for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
Louisiana Progress, a nonprofit advocacy group that supports the new law, indicates that based on national data, the law could reduce prosecutions over marijuana possession by about 250 cases annually.
“It’s very likely to lower costs and cases for public defenders,” Peter Robins-Brown, the policy and advocacy director for Louisiana Progress, told the Louisiana Record.
Potentially, the money saved by reducing prosecutions and potential incarcerations could be redirected to more pressing criminal matters or other justice system programs, according to Robins-Brown. The money saved might also go toward expunging the records of Louisianans who have been incarcerated for possessing small amounts of marijuana, he said.
“In a really ideal world, that would be something those funds could be used for,” Robins-Brown said.
A recent civil lawsuit filed in East Baton Rouge over the aggressive frisking of Black teens by law enforcement grew out of a traffic stop involving suspected marijuana possession, he said. There’s anecdotal evidence that decriminalizing marijuana could reduce the number of such civil lawsuits, easing burdens on the court system, according to Robins-Brown.
“Tasking law enforcement with enforcing an unpopular law really kind of exacerbates the tensions that already exist,” Robins-Brown said. Because Black and Brown communities are more affected by marijuana stops, he added, a reduction in criminal prosecutions could ease distrust between communities and police officers.
Louisiana Progress will be working to educate those in law enforcement and the court system about the new law to make sure the intent of the law is followed, he said.
“We’ll be certainly tracking that as much as we can,” he said. “We’ll be doing outreach to law enforcement.”