The surprise march of marijuana legalization through the Legislature is likely over for the session after the House rejects a bill that would set the tax rate for recreational pot sales. The final vote was 47-48 against. The tax legislation would’ve need 70 votes, or a two-thirds majority, for approval.
Mandeville Representative Richard Nelson said his legalization effort would have generated a lot of revenue for the state.
“The truth is right now all this money? We have zero. It’s nothing, it’s all going to the drug dealers,” said Nelson. “If we don’t pass this bill it’s going to go to the drug dealers this year, it’s going to go to the drug dealers next year, it’s probably going to go to the drug dealers the year after that.”
Thibodaux Representative Brian Fontenot led the charge against the bill on the House floor. He said we don’t know enough about the impacts of legalization yet to do it in Louisiana.
“Form a study group, have the Sheriffs association and economist study where the money should go, this is not the answer,” said Fontenot. Nelson countered “So we can have a study, we all love studies, we love doing nothing and talking about it. This sets up a tax, this allows us to take that revenue that is going to the drug dealers and the drug cartels, and we can use it.”
The Louisiana Sheriffs’ Association were staunch opponents of the bill, claiming it would lead to more traffic accidents and crime, a charge Nelson disputed.
Nelson attempted to win over skeptics by dedicating 20 percent of all legal pot revenue to local law enforcement. That did not sway the Sheriffs’ Association or Fontenot.
“This bill doesn’t just fail you and I this bill fails the state of Louisiana, I ask you to vote no,” said Fontenot.
Despite the failure of this legalization effort, the House did vote last week to decriminalize possession of a small quantity of weed. That legislation awaits a hearing in a Senate committee.
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