Indiana Lawmakers Make First Move To Decriminalize Possession Of Small Amounts Of Marijuana

A push to decriminalize possession of small amounts of cannabis in Indiana got its first hearing ever before a House committee this week, reported Indiana Capital Chronicle.

However, lawmakers did not vote on the bill from state Rep. Heath VanNatter, (R-Kokomo) on Wednesday and are not planning any further action this year either.

Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville, who serves as the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee chair, said that the issue had to be addressed even though she didn’t call a vote on HB 1297.

“I’ve been asked why,” McNamara said. “The answer is: we haven’t had this conversation and I think it needed to be had.”

Under the bill, having two ounces or less of marijuana would no longer be considered a crime for adults over 21. For now, possession of cannabis remains illegal in Indiana, though there is support for both recreational and medical legalization.

VanNatter stressed that advancing cannabis reform would create the much-needed quality control standards for the market that could potentially yield up to $2 billion.

“While regulations are the ideal outcome, decriminalization provides our judicial and law enforcement (systems) an opportunity to reprioritize their resources to meet the community’s needs,” he said.

Senate’s Legalization Efforts

Meanwhile, Senate members seem to be more open to changing cannabis policy.

State Senator Jon Ford (R) recently supported two marijuana-related bills on the heels of several others that were recently introduced in the state Senate.

Ford co-authored Senate Bill 336 with state Sen. David Niezgodski (D), which aims to create “a procedure for the lawful production and sale of cannabis in Indiana” while proposing a 10% tax on the sales per ounce and the creation of a cannabis commission.

Another bill, Senate Bill 377, also co-authored by Ford and Sen. Rodney Pol (D) and introduced on Jan. 19 would allow marijuana use by adults over 21 and people with a serious physician-confirmed health condition. It creates the recreational marijuana excise tax and regulates cannabis programs to allow cultivation, processing, testing, transportation and sale by licensed businesses, among other things.

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Photo: Courtesy of Kindel Media by Pixabay and Sean Pavone by Shutterstock