Sen. Tallian reintroduces marijuana decriminalization bill
State Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage) has reintroduced legislation, SB 580, she has previously sponsored that would lower the penalty for possession of small amounts of marijuana from a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000 to a Class C infraction — a civil offense similar to a traffic ticket — punishable by a fine of up to $500 with no possibility of jail time.
While the bill did not receive a hearing the last time it was introduced, two noteworthy new supporters give reason to hope this year will be different. Back in September, conservative State Sen. Brent Steele announced his support for reducing the penalties for marijuana possession. “We have to ask ourselves as a society, do we really want to be locking people up for having a couple of joints in their pocket,” Steele told local media. Then, shortly before the legislature convened, then-Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell told a legislative committee he favors taxing and regulating marijuana like alcohol.
If you would like to see Tallian’s bill become law, please email your legislators and ask them to support it. There are other ways to help, such as subscribing to our email alerts and forwarding them to friends and family and submitting letters to the editor of your local paper. Also, if you are a current or former law enforcement officer, or someone who has suffered negative consequences from a marijuana arrest, such as a lost job or denial of benefits, please email us, as your voice could be particularly persuasive. Please include your 9-digit zip code in your email so we can look up your state legislators.
Learn about Indiana's marijuana laws
Indiana has some of the harshest marijuana penalties in the country. Possession of even a single joint is punishable by up to a year of incarceration and up to a $5,000 fine. You can learn more about Indiana’s marijuana penalties and enforcement by reading this report by Jon Gettman, PhD. You can also send a letter to your legislators asking them to reduce the penalty for possession of marijuana to a civil fine or asking them to end marijuana prohibition entirely.
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