The Louisiana House Criminal Justice Committee was supposed to discuss and debate proposed legislation that would be the first step in legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in the state. That legislation, pun intended, was nipped in the bud before it ever had the chance to bloom.
Elsa Olofsson via Unsplash.com
The process by which the legislation was “derailed” was more about parliamentary procedure than it was about actually discussing the matter at hand. Chalmette Representative Ray Garofalo called for a motion to involuntary defer the bill. That motion passed. This effectively removes the bill from consideration for this session of the legislature.
House.Louisiana.gov
The “motion to defer” did not sit well with the author of House Bill 24, Candace Newell. Newell’s comments were reported by the Louisiana Radio Network as she claimed “fearmongering” was behind the motion and was in fact the reason that marijuana/cannabis was criminalized to begin with. Newell’s comments also suggest there is a racial component to the stereotypes associated with cannabis use too.
That these Black men would rape the white women, or they would be intrigued enough to want to sleep with these Black musicians and that is the fear that was put about in our society about making marijuana illegal.
Newell’s comments reflect societal concerns from the 50s and 60s as the use of cannabis was growing in popularity across the United States.
Chris Bair…
