Just days into his 2016 candidacy, Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal signed into law two marijuana policy reform bills, one of which makes Louisiana the first state in the Deep South to permit medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana has technically been legal in the state since 1991, but the government never set up the necessary rules and regulations for patients to obtain it. As the Times-Picayune reports, the new legislation will finally set up that framework.
A second bill will scale down penalties for marijuana possession. First-time offenders can have their conviction removed from their records if they do not re-offend within two years, while a second-time offense can be counted as a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
Louisiana has historically had some of the strictest penalties for marijuana possession in the country.
The Times-Picayune does note, however, that Jindal did not publish a press release on signing the bills—an unusual omission for such major legislation.
The medical marijuana bill permits chemotherapy patients and patients with glaucoma or spastic quadriplegia access to medical marijuana treatment. More illnesses may be added in later.
