Interim committee considers legalization ahead of 2024 legislative session

In November 2023, the Interim Study Committee on Commerce and Economic Development held a six-hour meeting examining “the legalization of adult-use cannabis in Indiana as it relates to workforce impacts and teen use.” The committee ultimately did not make any recommendations for the 2024 legislative session. 

During the 2023 legislative session, several cannabis reform measures were introduced, including bills to legalize medical cannabis and to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis. Although one decriminalization bill, HB 1287, received a committee hearing in the House for the first time, no cannabis bills advanced out of committee.

Indiana is increasingly an outlier when it comes to cannabis policy. Three of its four neighbors have legalized cannabis for adults 21 and older — Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio. Indiana is one of only 12 states with no effective medical cannabis law and one of only 19 that still imposes jail time for simple possession of cannabis. Under current law, possession of even a single joint is punishable by up to a year of incarceration and a fine of up to $5,000.

Make sure your lawmakers know this issue matters to voters; ask them to support cannabis policy reform!

Medical: Ask your state legislators to support a compassionate, comprehensive medical cannabis program.

Decriminalization: Let your lawmakers know it’s time to stop arresting cannabis consumers. Ask them to support changing the penalty for possession from possible jail time to a civil fine.

Legalization: Urge your lawmakers to end cannabis prohibition in Indiana and legalize, tax, and regulate cannabis for adults. 

Gov. Holcomb signs bill legalizing low-THC CBD oil

On March 21, 2018, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Senate Enrolled Act 52, legalizing low-THC CBD derived from industrial hemp. The law allows any person to buy, sell, and possess CBD oil, as long as it meets certain labeling requirements and contains no more than 0.3 percent THC.

The law provides a much needed expansion to Indiana’s 2017 low-THC law for patients with seizure disorders, which only allowed CBD oil for epileptic patients while providing no way for them to purchase it. Still, the law provides no clarification on the legality of manufacturing CBD in Indiana.

While this is a positive step forward for the state, it leaves behind most patients who could benefit from an effective medical cannabis program. Ask your lawmakers to support a program that allows as much THC as patients need. Please let your lawmakers know that you want comprehensive reform!

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