Indiana Lawmakers Put Cannabis Policy on Agenda for Summer Study Committee

Indiana lawmakers have included cannabis policy on their agenda for a summer study committee. Leaders from both parties on the committee will consider policies on “delta-8, delta-9, and other THC products regarding potential health benefits, potential decriminalization, and other potential consequences.”

State Rep. Terri Austin (D-Anderson), chair of the House Democratic Caucus, told FOX 59 that “there’s just a whole lot” lawmakers need to consider on cannabis policy in the Hoosier State.

“Do we need to have some behind the counter frameworks in place for sale? Do we need to have some age requirements?” – Austin to FOX 59

Last week, State Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray (R) told reporters that lawmakers need to be informed on delta-8 and delta-9 as “a lot of members of the General Assembly aren’t overly familiar with what those products are.” Although he said he was unsure whether any legislation would come from the committee’s work.

“We in Indiana have been slower to go that direction than states that are surrounding us, as you all know, but we don’t live in a vacuum,” Bray said, according to FOX 59.

Jason Straw, chairman of Indiana NORML, told FOX 59 that stakeholders and lawmakers in the state “need to have a wholehearted discussion about cannabis, all forms of cannabis.”

Ahead of the 2022 session, Indiana Democrats called on the Legislature to consider broad cannabis legalization, and multiple bills were filed by both Democrats and Republicans to enact the reforms but were not discussed by either chamber.