Indiana legislator pushes for legalization of cannabis oil

Senator Jim Tomes of Wadesville, Indiana, has filed a bill last week proposing to officially legalize the possession, use, and sale of cannabis oil in the state. If approved, this will make the product available and readily accessible throughout Indiana.

The proposed legislation, called bill HB 1106, clarifies that CBD or cannabidiol oil is actually already legal on paper as it is not included in the list of “controlled substances” in Indiana.

However, it can be recalled that six months before the bill was filed, an investigation by a media outlet revealed that the Indiana State Excise Police had raided health stores across the state, seized their CBD products, and cited them for cannabis possession without the knowledge of the state police, the attorney general, or the governor’s office.  Excise police are police officers who are in charge of enforcing the law under the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission.

These series of raids and confiscations reflected badly on Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb, who appeared not to have a clear idea of the legislation (HB 1148) that he signed in April 2017, which exempted qualified patients using CBD from criminal penalties so long as they have authorization from their physicians.

So, in an effort to put an end to all the confusion, Tomes kicked off the new year by filing a piece of legislation that would make CBD oil “as easy to get as baby aspirins.”

It should be noted that, like other states that have legalized CBD with certain limits, Indiana law stipulates that CBD extracts should contain no more than 0.3 percent of THC by weight.  Moreover, extracts should also be at least 10 percent CBD.

HB 1148, however, does not have any provision as to any in-state source for CBD, nor does it establish a regulatory framework for the distribution of CBD products. These gaps in the law are what contributed to the confusion that Senator Tomes’ proposed bill intends to correct.

Conservative Republican Tomes stated that he wants his new bill “to cut to the chase,” and “just get rid of all the unknown” and make this product very clearly legal.