Jeff Landry, Opioid-Fueled Crime Reduction, Louisiana 2024

BATON ROUGE, LA — The Louisiana Legislature has delivered a sweeping victory in the state’s battle against opioid-fueled crime, granting final passage to SB 145 — a measure championed by Attorney General Jeff Landry that expands drug and specialty courts across the state. The bill, now awaiting Governor sign-off, marks a hard pivot from incarceration to intervention for nonviolent offenders ensnared in addiction.

Spearheaded by Landry as Chairman of the newly formed Drug and Specialty Court Commission, SB 145 overhauls the state’s approach to substance-related crime by increasing screening for court eligibility, boosting program capacity, and elevating treatment quality. The legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, a rarity in today’s fractured political climate, underscoring the urgency of the opioid crisis that has ravaged communities from New Orleans to Shreveport.

The law establishes a dedicated Drug and Specialty Court fund, financed by recoveries from opioid manufacturers, marketers, and distributors found liable in lawsuits. Millions in settlement dollars — clawed back from companies that fueled the epidemic — will now flow directly into treatment programs instead of general coffers, ensuring accountability and reinvestment at the grassroots level.

“Drug courts reduce crime, reduce drug abuse, and reduce costs to taxpayers,” Landry declared, framing the bill as both a public safety and fiscal imperative. He emphasized that evidence-based treatment, paired with judicial oversight, has proven to slash recidivism while restoring employment, housing, and family stability for participants.

This move caps a years-long offensive by Landry against the opioid machine. His office has launched investigations, filed lawsuits, and secured settlements that put Naloxone in the hands of first responders at no cost. Through “End the Epidemic LA,” partnerships with hospice groups, and statewide drug take-back boxes, his office has weaponized prevention and recovery as core tools of law enforcement.

“The opioid epidemic rages on but so does my commitment to end it,” Landry vowed. With SB 145 poised to become law, Louisiana bets big on treatment over jail — and on healing the human wreckage left behind by decades of unchecked addiction and corporate greed.

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