Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has written to the executive director of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association asking member schools to inform students, coaches, staff, and fans about a law he signed in May that imposes up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for smoking, vaping, or otherwise using a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of school property.
Louisiana governor asks schools to publicize law imposing up to one year in jail for marijuana use within 2,000 feet of campus
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry (R) has written to the executive director of the Louisiana High School Athletic Association asking member schools to inform students, coaches, staff, and fans about a law he signed in May that imposes up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine for smoking, vaping, or otherwise using a controlled substance within 2,000 feet of school property.
The law, Act 305, applies to people who violate drug laws 'while smoking, vaping, or otherwise abusing such controlled dangerous substance while on any property used for school purposes by any school, within two thousand feet of any such property, or while on a school bus,' according to the legislation's text as cited by Landry.
In his letter, Landry wrote that fall sports are underway and that on most Friday nights thousands of students, parents, and other spectators gather on and around school campuses across Louisiana. He noted that the 2,000-foot zone 'extends past the property line, so it covers streets, sidewalks, bus stops, parks, and homes that students do not think of as school property,' and that it applies to 'any person, not only students.'
Landry said the consequences of a marijuana arrest at a school sports event 'do not stop at the courthouse,' warning that a student arrested for a felony-grade offense carries a criminal record affecting eligibility and college recruitment 'for conduct that was a citable offense last spring.' He also noted that adult spectators face the same criminal exposure.
The governor provided a flyer he asked schools to post where students and spectators gather at athletic facilities, including gymnasiums, field houses, locker rooms, concession areas, and stadium and gate entrances. The letter was first reported by WGNO-TV.
In June, Landry posted a video stating he signed the bill because he is 'tired of going to our college and high school campuses and being inundated with the smell of marijuana' and 'tired of seeing drugs littering our high school and college campuses, hurting our students.'
Rep. Gabe Firment (R), who sponsored the bill, said it 'strengthens enforcement of Louisiana drug-free school zone laws by creating a clear behavior-based offense, so that when someone is openly smoking or vaping illegal drug in the school zone, law enforcement can act and prosecutors can prove the case.'
In 2021, then-Gov. John Bel Edwards (D) signed a bill decriminalizing marijuana by removing the threat of jail time for possessing up to 14 grams. Separately, a Louisiana bill allowing patients with terminal and irreversible conditions to use medical marijuana in hospitals took effect without Landry's signature, as did legislation to create a psychedelic-assisted therapy pilot program funded by opioid settlement dollars.
- The source does not state which specific felony statute, if any, governs the offense, or whether 'felony-grade' is the precise legal classification assigned by Act 305.
- The source does not state whether the Louisiana High School Athletic Association has responded to or acknowledged Landry's letter.
- The source does not identify what 'historical data' Kevin Caldwell cited regarding who would bear the brunt of enforcement.
- The source does not state how the 2,000-foot penalty zone under Act 305 differs from or overlaps with pre-existing Louisiana drug-free school zone statutes.
- The source does not state the effective date of Act 305 beyond that it was signed in May.
- The source does not state whether Landry's staff's committee testimony occurred before or after the bill passed either chamber.
Read the original at Marijuana Moment