Photo via Wikimedia Commons.

New Orleans City Council Unanimously Approves Marijuana Reform Ordinance

The New Orleans City Council has voted 7-0 to reduce the penalties for marijuana possession in Orleans Parish.

The ordinance, which was proposed by Councilmember Susan Guidry, gives police the ability to punish marijuana possession with a citation instead of issuing summonses or making custodial arrests. The citations would come with a fine of $40 for first offenses, $60 for second offenses, $80 for third offenses and $100 for subsequent offenses.

However, officers will still have the ability to make arrests under state law instead of municipal law if they chose to do so, a fact that can only be changed at the state level. While some on the council, particularly Councilmember Brossett, expressed concerns about officers invoking state law to make arrests, the consensus appeared to be that a change in municipal law would lead to a significant reduction in arrests and would be a step in the right direction.

“We are are extremely impressed that all seven councilmembers supported this common sense marijuana reform,” said Kevin Caldwell, Executive Director of CommonsenseNOLA. “It’s a great day for the City of New Orleans.”

Mayor Mitch Landrieu is expected to sign the ordinance, which will go into effect 90 days later.

The unanimous vote comes just a few days after a number of local musicians–including Kermit Ruffins, Phil Frazier (Rebirth Brass Band), Terrence Houston, Billy Iuso, KC O’Rorke (Flow Tribe), Papa Mali, Eric Benny Bloom, Tom McDermott, Meschiya Lake and many others–declared their support for marijuana reform.

Today’s vote marks the city’s biggest shift in marijuana policy since Ordinance 28,246 went into effect in 2011. That law gave police officers the ability to issue a summons for first time marijuana possession charges instead of forcing them to make custodial arrests. Since its implementation, New Orleans has seen its number of marijuana possession arrests drop to an average of 2,600 per year (between 2011 and 2014) from its previous high of 6,000 per year (2007-2010). However, officers still issued 1,400 summonses per year between 2011 and 2014, bringing the total number of marijuana possession charges to 4,000 per year during that time frame.

The City Council hopes that the new law will further reduce the number of marijuana possession arrests.