The Louisiana House rejected a bill from Richard Nelson of Mandeville on Tuesday that would have taxed recreational marijuana if the state ever legalized it.
The decision on the tax bill likely dooms the prospect of legalized marijuana in the state this year and next year, since tax bills cannot be brought up in 2022, as it is not a fiscal session then. The bill needed two-thirds of the House, or 70 votes, for approval. The vote was 47 in favor and 48 against.
It would have taxed the sale of marijuana at 50 percent, with half of that going to the state’s general fund and the other half to local governments. Twenty percent of the local share would have gone to law enforcement.
Nelson said the tax bill, along with a separate bill to legalize marijuana, could have brought in over $100 million in tax revenue a year. He said Tuesday he would not bring up his legislation to legalize marijuana after the tax measure failed.
Multiple polls show a majority of Louisianians support legalizing marijuana.
This marked the first time legislation to legalize recreational marijuana advanced out of a legislative committee. But Nelson’s bill faced opposition from the Louisiana Sheriff’s Association, along with the state district attorneys association. During a committee hearing, Warren Montgomery, DA for St. Tammany and Washington parishes, cited multiple studies that reviewed the detrimental effects of legalized weed.
Louisiana does have legalized medical marijuana, which the legislature approved in 2015, though it was not made available to patients until 2019.
