A lawmaker in Louisiana has prefiled two separate bills in the state’s House of Representatives to legalize, regulate and tax marijuana, with a third forthcoming.
State Representative Candace Newell has prefiled two different legislative proposals aimed at legalizing marijuana and established a licensed and regulated system of marijuana retailers and producers, with one more on the way.
“I’ve separated the three bills. It’s legalization, regulation, and taxation”, says Newell. “So each bill does its own thing,”
Newell’s prefiled bills are HB-17 and HB-24.
HB-24 would legalize the possession and distribution of marijuana Newell says it “Just like alcohol. You have a license to sell alcohol. If you don’t have a license you can’t sell it. The same will be with recreational marijuana.
HB-17 would allow the Department of Agriculture to issue 10 licenses for cultivating and processing marijuana and 40 licenses for marijuana retail outlets.
The third bill, which is the only yet to be officially prefiled, would establish tax rates for the legal marijuana industry.
