I am writing you today to voice my opposition to HB 700, which would impose jail time as a possible sentence for juveniles found with up to 14 grams of cannabis. While I believe we should take steps to curb youth’s use of cannabis in our community, incarceration is the wrong approach. Last year, HB 652 took jail off the table as a punishment for possession of small amounts of cannabis. We should not revert to methods that have proven unsuccessful in deterring use and that have caused so much harm. Enforcement of cannabis laws have always been inequitable. Black Louisianans have been more than three times more likely to be arrested than their white counterparts for decades —despite equal use among ethnicities. There is no reason to believe enforcement would be any different if this bill passed. Please vote NO on HB 700.

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I am writing you today to voice my concerns about the long-term consequences of HB 700, which would include incarceration as a possible penalty for minors possessing small amounts of marijuana. I am concerned with youth use of marijuana, but expanding our troubled juvenile system is not the answer. Our juvenile justice system is in serious trouble. We are seeing national attention for the inhumane way we incarcerate our youth. These institutions should be focused on reforming troubled youths’ violent criminal activities rather than punishing nonviolent offenders for marijuana. Too often, these facilities are finishing schools for criminal activities. It would be far more appropriate to require online drug education classes and/or community service for youth caught with marijuana. These measures, coupled with parental discipline, will be far more effective tools in deterring youth marijuana use. They are also more cost effective and humane. This legislation will increase the number of juveniles entering our deeply flawed juvenile detention system. I ask you to vote “no” on HB 700.