Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry explains Act 305 of the 2026 Louisiana Legislative Regular Session, which concerns new criminal penalties for marijuana on and near school campuses, that went into effect on August 1, 2026.

(From the Desk of the Governor) – August 27, 2026

Act 305 of the 2026 Regular Session took effect on August 1, 2026. It raised the penalty for possessing or using marijuana on or near a school campus from a fine to a term of imprisonment. Fall sports are underway, and on most Friday nights thousands of students, parents, and other spectators gather on and around school campuses across Louisiana. I am asking the Louisiana High School Athletic Association (“LHSAA”) to make its member schools aware of this change now, and to ask them to carry it to their student-athletes, coaches, event staff, and fans.

What Changed

Act 305 amended La. R.S. 40:981.3, Louisiana’s drug-free zone statute, and enacted a new
Subsection E. A person who violates that Section by an act that also violates La. R.S. 40:966(C)(2), the marijuana possession statute, “shall be punished by imprisonment, with or without hard labor, for not more than one year and may, in addition, be required to pay a fine of not more than one thousand dollars.”

Subsection A of that statute reaches any violation of the Uniform Controlled Dangerous Substances Law committed on property used for school purposes, within two thousand feet of that property, or on a school bus. Act 305 also enacted Paragraph (A)(4), which extends the statute to a person who commits such a violation “while smoking, vaping, or otherwise abusing such controlled dangerous substance” in those same locations. At an athletic event that reaches a student using a THC vape pen in a restroom, in a parking lot, or on a team bus, and it reaches an adult doing the same thing in the stands or at a tailgate.

Prior law treated the same conduct as a fine-only offense. Under La. R.S. 40:966(C)(2)(a)(i), a person who possessed fourteen grams or less of marijuana was fined not more than one hundred dollars, and that provision is enforced by summons rather than custodial arrest. On or near a campus, that conduct now carries up to one year of imprisonment and a fine of up to one thousand dollars. Because the sentence may be imposed at hard labor, the offense falls within the definition of a felony in R.S. 14:2(4).

The zone extends two thousand feet past the property line, so it covers streets, sidewalks, bus stops,
parks and homes that students do not consider school property.

La. R.S. 40:981.3(B) provides that “[I]ack of knowledge that the prohibited act occurred on or within two thousand feet of school or drug treatment facility property shall not be a defense.”

Why This Matters at Athletic Events

The statute reaches any person, not only students. A parent, an alumnus, or any other spectator who smokes or vapes marijuana in a stadium parking lot, at a tailgate, or in the stands during a contest is exposed to the same penalty as a student. Under La. R.S. 40:981.3(C)(2), “school property” means all property used for school purposes, “including but not limited to school playgrounds, as well as any building or area owned by the state or by a political subdivision and used or operated as a playground or recreational facility.” Athletic fields, field houses, and gymnasiums are squarely within that definition, and the two thousand foot zone reaches the parking areas, side streets, and neighboring lots where fans gather before and after a game. The same analysis applies to contests played away from a member school’s own campus whenever the host site is a school or sits within two thousand feet of one.

The consequences of an arrest at a game do not stop at the courthouse. A student arrested for a felony-grade offense carries a criminal record, and questions about eligibility and college recruitment follow, all for conduct that was a citable offense last spring. Adult spectators face the same criminal exposure. Member schools are better served by making this known before the first incident than by explaining it afterward.