NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – A New Orleans councilwoman is pushing to make marijuana possession a minor crime. Councilwoman Susan G. Guidry announced her plan Monday.
Currently, police have the option to issue a ticket instead of making an arrest in simple marijuana possession cases if it’s the person’s first time. Now Guidry wants to expand her 2010 ordinance to cover all subsequent marijuana simple possession offenses.
If the ordinance is approved by the council and signed my Mayor Mitch Landrieu, officers would be instructed to give a verbal warning the first time someone was caught, a written warning for the second offense, and face $50 to $100 fines for offense after that, according to the New Orleans Advocate.
As it stands now, those caught with weed face a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail.
In a statement, Councilwoman Guidry said, “the effort would free up police, save money and make application of marijuana laws more fair and just across ethnic and economic backgrounds.”
Guidry wants police on the street investigating more egregious crimes such as murders, rapes, and armed robberies, rather than at the station spending countless hours booking individuals on victimless, non-violent crimes.
“The citizens of our city want their tax dollars focused on preventing crime and fixing infrastructure. These marijuana arrests clog our already overburdened court systems and public defender’s office. Also, when indigent defendants cannot afford the hefty state law fines for possession offenses, they end up clogging our jail for failure to pay. Then it is the taxpayers who are forced to foot the bill,” said District A Councilmember Susan G. Guidry.
The proposal was sparked by changes in state law last year that gave local governments more control over marijuana cases.
The ordinance will be discussed on Wednesday, January 27, at 2 p.m. at the Council’s Criminal Justice Committee meeting. Guidry is the Chair of the Criminal Justice Committee.
Guidry will introduce the proposed ordinance at the City Council meeting Thursday, January 28 at 10 a.m.