Fake News on Marijuana
As a bill seeking to expand Louisiana's medical marijuana laws works its way through Louisiana's legislature, it's facing a bit of confusion.
As one lawmaker argued against HB579 in a House committee Thursday, she referenced a satirical news article from The Daily Currant claiming 37 people died on the first day recreational marijuana was legalized in Colorado in January 2014.
That story is fake. The information is untrue.
Rep. Dodie Horton (R-Haughton) cited the information from the satirical news outlet during a discussion before the committee voted on the bill. She later replied to a tweet from an Advocate reporter identifying her source as a satirical outlet, saying she received the story from "a so-called 'trusted' source," before blocking that reporter from her account. She acknowledged in the tweet she now realizes her source was not credible.
