Indiana state Senator introduces two bills to decriminalize and regulate marijuana

Legal pot could soon be coming to our neighbor, the Hoosier State.

Indiana state Senator Karen Tallian, a Democrat, has introduced two bills to decriminalize and regulate marijuana for adults.

The two measures, SB 87 and SB 223, were introduced earlier this month. SB 87 would establish a commission to regulate all forms of cannabis that have been legalized in Indiana, including industrial hemp and low-THC hemp extracts, while SB 223 would decriminalize possession of up to two ounces of marijuana for adults and repeal marijuana possession as a level 6 felony.

Tallian, who has been working to legalize marijuana in Indiana for a decade, says in a Facebook post that it's time to catch Indiana's cannabis laws up to states like Michigan and Illinois, and to help right the wrongs of the War on Drugs.

"Arrests for marijuana possession made up 45% of all drug arrests from 2010-2018 in Indiana," she wrote. "Contextually, Black Hoosiers are 3.5x more likely to be arrested for the possession of marijuana. Our neighboring states have made efforts to address unjust marijuana laws, and it's time for us to do the same. That's why I authored SB 87 and 223 this session, to allow for the regulation and legalization of marijuana in our state. I will be fighting for these bills because legalizing marijuana is the right thing to do. It's time to move our state forward."

It's a new era for marijuana in Michigan. Sign up for our weekly weed newsletter, delivered every Tuesday at 4:20 p.m.