Indiana lawmakers are already making moves to enact drug policy reform in the 2025 session—with newly filed bills to legalize marijuana, allow medical cannabis and fund psilocybin research.
While the prospects of the cannabis measures are unclear given the Republican-controlled legislature’s historic resistance to reform, the psychedelics legislation would simply provide the necessary funding for an already-enacted law promoting psilocybin research.
Sen. Rodney Pol (D) has introduced legislation that would legalize marijuana for recreational and medical purposes in the state.
The bill would establish a regulatory framework and excise tax for cannabis, while creating an Indiana Cannabis Commission (ICC) and Advisory Committee to oversee the program.
It would also facilitate research into marijuana and provide for the expungement of criminal records for offenses made legal under the reform.
According to a fiscal note from the Legislative Services Agency (LSA), enacting the bill would generate “between $46.6 million and $92.6 million in FY 2026 and $50.8 million and $101.7 million in FY 2027 from Sales and Excise Taxes and permit fees.”
Despite the GOP-controlled legislature’s history on marijuana policy reform, some suspect the tides might change in 2025. Part of that enthusiasm comes from the fact that Gov.-elect Mike Braun (R) recently said that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis.
However—despite a recent survey showing nearly 9 in 10 Indiana adults support legalizing medical marijuana—Republican leaders in the legislature are pushing back on the idea.
“It’s no secret that I am not for this,” Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) said last month. “I don’t have people coming to me with really compelling medical cases as to why it’s so beneficial. And any state that I’ve seen pass medical marijuana is essentially passing recreational marijuana.”
House Speaker Todd Huston (R), meanwhile, doubted any medical benefits associated with marijuana, calling the substance “a deterrent to mental health.” He and others suggested that lawmakers supportive of the reform merely want to boost state revenue.
Meanwhile in Indiana, an organization led by the former head of the state’s Republican Party is pushing lawmakers to adopt what it’s calling “safe and regulated” policies on marijuana.
An interim study group had heard testimony around the possibility of decriminalizing simple cannabis possession last November, but the group did not make any specific recommendations.
The legislation, sponsored by Rep. Blake Johnson (D), would also establish a regulatory framework for adult-use marijuana, with a Cannabis Commission charged with overseeing the program.
Marijuana would be subject to a 10 percent excise tax, in addition to the state’s 7 percent sales tax.
“Revenue to the state General Fund is estimated to increase between $41.9 M and $82.1 M per year from Sales Taxes” on marijuana, according to a fiscal note. “Also, the bill establishes the nonreverting Cannabis Regulation Fund which could receive between $60.4 M and $118.5 M per year from the Cannabis Excise Tax and permit fee revenue.”
It would also impose new penalties for mislabeling hemp products and selling or transporting cannabis to minors.
Under a newly filed bill from Rep. Heath VanNatter (R), it would no longer be a crime to possess up to two ounces of cannabis or grow plants with more than two ounces.
The proposal would also increase the felony threshold for possession, raising it from 30 grams to four ounces.
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