{"id":55565,"date":"2022-06-30T06:48:44","date_gmt":"2022-06-30T14:48:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/06\/30\/indiana-lawmakers-will-explore-marijuana-decriminalization-and-delta-8-thc-regulations-this-summer\/"},"modified":"2022-06-30T08:45:30","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T16:45:30","slug":"indiana-lawmakers-will-explore-marijuana-decriminalization-and-delta-8-thc-regulations-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/06\/30\/indiana-lawmakers-will-explore-marijuana-decriminalization-and-delta-8-thc-regulations-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"Indiana Lawmakers Will Explore Marijuana Decriminalization And Delta-8 THC Regulations This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cWe in Indiana have been slower to go that direction than states that are surrounding us, as you all know, but we don\u2019t live in a vacuum.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Indiana lawmakers this summer and fall will discuss potential regulations for THC products, as well as possible decriminalization of marijuana.<\/p>\n

Whether those deliberations will result in forward momentum is still undetermined as legislation often fails to materialize from these interim meetings.<\/p>\n

The public health summer study committee will focus on \u201cdelta-8, delta-9, and other THC products regarding potential health benefits, potential decriminalization, and other potential consequences,\u201d according to the\u00a0agenda<\/a> approved by legislative leaders\u00a0from both caucuses.<\/p>\n

While lawmakers said total marijuana decriminalization is on the table for debate, they will also explore restrictions around the sale of products like delta-8, including age requirements for purchasing.<\/p>\n

Delta-8 is a chemical compound derived from hemp, which was legalized federally in the 2018 Farm Bill and gives users a weaker high than delta-9, the chemical found in marijuana.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important to inform ourselves on delta-8 and delta-9,\u201d Republican State Senate President Pro Tempore Rodric Bray said. \u201cI think a lot of members of the General Assembly aren\u2019t overly familiar with what those products are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bray said he\u2019s not sure what, if any, legislation will come from the committee but believes it\u2019s an important issue to study.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe in Indiana have been slower to go that direction than states that are surrounding us, as you all know, but we don\u2019t live in a vacuum,\u201d he\u00a0 said. \u201cWe have to figure out where we are and this is going to be an important conversation to have this summer for where Indiana moves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb expressed reservations about signing a new cannabis law, saying that until marijuana is federally lawful, \u201cwe\u2019re getting ahead of ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t question the potential positive impact it could have, but this needs to be done lawfully,\u201d Holcomb added.<\/p>\n

Delta-8 derived from hemp plants is legal to purchase and produce in Indiana, as long as they contain no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Hemp-derived CBD and delta-10 THC are also legal in Indiana.<\/p>\n

Hemp flower and delta-8 flower are not legal under state law, however. The same goes for medical and recreational marijuana, which is classified in Indiana code as a controlled substance.<\/p>\n

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Greg Taylor of Indianapolis said he\u2019s hopeful that the committee\u2019s discussion will sway the Republican supermajority to seriously consider decriminalization, noting it could be a cost-saving move for the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt like it was in the wrong committee,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cBut if they\u2019re going to discuss it, I\u2019ll be here to provide my input on what we should do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discussions follow an ongoing effort by state Democrats to legalize marijuana<\/a> in Indiana. They maintain that marijuana legalization could boost the economy and bring more jobs.<\/p>\n

Republican legislative leaders have rejected marijuana bills previously, though, arguing that they prefer to wait for federal legalization first.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers studied cannabis for medical use in 2018, but pushes for any form of legalization have been unsuccessful.<\/p>\n

Of the 11 marijuana-related bills drafted in 2021, only one became law. That law, authored by Republican Sen. Mike Young of Indianapolis and sponsored by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, offers a defense for drivers caught with marijuana or its metabolite in their bloodstream, as long as the driver was not intoxicated and didn\u2019t cause an accident.<\/p>\n

A separate\u00a0bill<\/a> introduced this year sought to ban delta-8, but died in the final days of session.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would love to see [lawmakers] find out how beneficial all this stuff is, and use it, potentially, as a pathway for decriminalization and medicinal use,\u201d said Frank Lloyd, a board member at Indiana\u2019s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.<\/p>\n

Lloyd pointed to successful reform in Indianapolis, where Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears has remained in support of legalizing cannabis. His office stopped prosecuting cases for simple marijuana possession in 2019\u2014part of an effort to reduce the prison population and allowed police to focus on violent offenders.<\/p>\n

Still, statewide decriminalization in the 2023 legislative session is \u201cextremely optimistic, at best,\u201d Lloyd said, given that lawmakers will likely need more time to \u201cget on board.\u201d\u00a0He\u2019s creating the \u201cIndiana Cannabis Chamber of Commerce\u201d to help bolster lobbying efforts and increase education for lawmakers and the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically,\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0starting the clock for the next two to three years on a decriminalization bill or a medicinal cannabis bill,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I think that this is a great beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n

State lawmakers meet during the summer and fall months to discuss various top policy issues, gather public input and recommend legislation for the upcoming legislative session. Affordable housing, maternal mortality and education mandates are among the other topics lawmakers are slated to explore ahead of the 2023 General Assembly.<\/p>\n

The topics were selected by the Legislative Council, composed of eight members of the Indiana Senate and eight members of the Indiana House of Representatives. The chamber leaders alternate as chair each year.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by Indiana Capital Chronicle.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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Federal Health Officials Say Psychedelics\u2019 Illegal Status Makes It Harder For Researchers To Study Them<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis\/Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Indiana Lawmakers Will Explore Marijuana Decriminalization And Delta-8 THC Regulations This Summer<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\u201cWe in Indiana have been slower to go that direction than states that are surrounding us, as you all know, but we don\u2019t live in a vacuum.\u201d Casey Smith, Indiana Capital Chronicle Indiana lawmakers this summer and fall will discuss potential regulations for THC products, as well as possible decriminalizationContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55566,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55565\/revisions\/55566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}