A Louisiana Senate committee has approved a House-passed bill that threatens to send people to jail for up to one year if they smoke marijuana within 2,000 feet of a school property—including a college campus.
The legislation from Rep. Gabe Firment (R) cleared the Senate Judiciary B Committee in a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, weeks after being passed by the House of Representatives.
HB 568, which could receive a Senate floor vote soon, 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.”
Firment told senators that his bill “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.”
“For marijuana, the bill establishes a clear and consistent penalty—up to a year in jail and $1,000 fine, ensuring that violations in school zones result in real, enforceable consequences,” he said.
Kevin Caldwell, Southeast legislative manager for the pro-legalization Marijuana Policy
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