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Just to give you a little backstory and some more perspective on the state’s attitudes toward marijuana, let’s have a quick history lesson.

Indiana was one of the earliest states in the U.S. to ban marijuana way back in 2013. It would be another one hundred years before legislators would endeavor to bring some sense of reasonableness into the state’s marijuana policies. Sadly, the push to decriminalize marijuana in Indiana failed miserably.

In February 2013, lawmakers put forth a bill to decriminalize trivial amounts of marijuana. Unfortunately, that bill was killed by Republicans in the state House and never made it out of the gate. Then-governor, now Vice POTUS Mike Pence famously stated: “I think we need to focus on reducing crime, not reducing penalties.” He didn’t think of the fact that if you stop making it a crime to possess marijuana, you reduce crime. 

Then in the early part of 2015, Democrats in both the House and the Senate introduced medical marijuana bills that would have legalized the use of cannabis to treat a list of severe conditions with a doctor’s recommendation. Both bills were again squashed by Republicans.

Jump ahead another two years to April 2017. Legislation was passed to allow the use of CBD oil to treat only certain cases of Epilepsy. That law was then expanded upon In March 2018, when legislation was signed that allowed the use of CBD to treat any medical condition. Under the new laws, health care providers who recommend CBD oil to their patients are immune from prosecution under the state’s marijuana laws, as are patients who receive those recommendations. 

But there’s still a catch or two in the latest version of Indiana CBD laws. The CBD oil must meet demanding labeling and testing requirements and must contain no more than 0.3 percent THC. By law, every batch of CBD oil whether imported or made in-state must be tested in order to ensure it has less than 0.3 percent THC. 

However, there are no specifications for excessive amounts of contaminants, pesticides, molds, and so on, nor for the amount of CBD in the product. This leaves patients to navigate the Wild West atmosphere in the CBD oil industry where just about anything goes, at the moment. Furthermore, although Indiana has a thriving hemp industry, the bill says nothing about the production of CBD oil in the state. 

At the end of 2018, the federal government legalized hemp and removed it from the country’s list of controlled substances. Many states quickly followed suit. Not Indiana. The possession and use of CBD oil without a doctor’s recommendation is strictly forbidden. That being said, plenty of shops in Indiana are thumbing their noses at state officials and selling it anyway. 

Recently a new bill was passed by the Indiana Senate which attempts to regulate hemp production. The bad news is Senate Bill 516 some of the CBD products that are currently for sale in the state would be made illegal. Also, an amendment was added to the bill at the last minute which bans smokable CBD products and makes it illegal to buy or sell hemp bud. So it looks like things could get worse before they get better.

That being said, many advocates feel that it’s only a matter of time before the state legalizes CBD for all and implements a real medical marijuana program. 

The pressure is on. To the North, Michigan has both a thriving medical marijuana program and a regulated market for adult recreational use of marijuana. And to the east and west of the Hoosier state, both Illinois and Ohio also have legitimate medical marijuana programs. Our time will come.