Louisiana bill criminalizing cannabis use near campuses advances to governor

Legislation imposing jail penalties for smoking marijuana on or near school property clears Louisiana legislature.

FILE — statehouse · B.D. Gilfry / CC BY-SA 2.0

A Louisiana bill that would jail people for smoking marijuana on or near campuses has passed the legislature and is heading to the governor's desk, according to Marijuana Moment. The measure represents a hardline approach to cannabis regulation in a state where momentum around legalization and decriminalization has stalled.

The timing is notable: Louisiana's adult-use cannabis pilot program died in early June, and the governor signed a separate recriminalization bill around the same time. Yet the state has also expanded medical access—permitting terminally ill patients hospital use and funding a psychedelic therapy pilot program via opioid settlement dollars. This creates a mixed regulatory picture: medical channels opening while criminal penalties tighten for certain conduct.

The next flashpoint is gubernatorial action. If signed, the campus-proximity criminalization will mark the third major restrictive cannabis measure enacted in Louisiana within weeks, signaling a state-level pivot away from the legalization pathway discussed earlier this year.