Indiana’s Senate’s number one leader believes that legalizing cannabis in small quantities would be “smart” for the state. However, he is “unconvinced.”
Rodric Bray, Senate Pro Tempore (R), said in a recent interview with The Indiana Lawyer that he is aware marijuana reform “is becoming more and more popular across Indiana and here at the Senate.”
“We cannot exist in a void,” said the legislator, who was historically against both legalization of adult use and for medical purposes. More than 30 states, including the states surrounding us, have legalized some form of marijuana.
While Bray said he was speaking personally—”just Rod Bray talk, and not our caucus”—he described marijuana decriminalization as a better path forward, taking a more moderate approach to reform.
I think it’s a good idea to decriminalize marijuana in small quantities, given where we stand right now. “I don’t believe that this needs to be criminalized at this time,” he stated. It could be an infraction, or similar. People are buying the product legally elsewhere in the country. [and] Can’t own it when you get back. At this point, should it be considered a crime punishable by jail time? “Perhaps not.”
The decriminalization of crimes is something he’d consider, he said. But we must do it as an organization.
Illinois lawmakers have recently been examining various cannabis reforms, including medical cannabis and cannabis for adult use. In January of this year, Gov. Mike Braun (R), who said that he was “amenable”, to the legalization of medical marijuana, also noted that he didn’t know whether Republican legislators would take up this issue.
Braun stated at that time, “I’m willing to listen to any arguments for medical marijuana.”
Michigan and Illinois, two states nearby, have also been studied by other lawmakers as guides to legalizing marijuana in a broader sense.
Bray’s position was that, during a Decemeber event, he did not support legalization of any kind.
He said, “It is no secret that this is not my position,” at an Indianapolis law firm conference. I don’t get people who come to me to tell me why medical marijuana is so good. Any state that has passed medical marijuana, is also passing recreational marijuana.
Bray is in favor of further regulation for hemp products such as delta-8-THC. According to his new interview in The Indiana Lawyer, lawmakers are prepared to take action on the issue.
“The other thing you’ll see us work on, that we’re working on hard this year, is a distinction from marijuana and…some of those other cannabinoids that are out there that are being sold today to people who are 12, 14 years old,” he said. “We can make these things illegal.”
Bray proposed decriminalizing cannabis without state oversight. However, when it came to hemp products, Bray argued that regulation would protect the consumer better.
Some of these products have an extremely high level of toxicity. [and] He said that they could be harmful. The people need to be able to identify them and know the contents so that they will understand how they’ll affect them. This regulation is essential.”
This session lawmakers will be considering hemp and marijuana-related legislation, such as a “craft Hemp flower Products” bill, which would establish an age limit on products, rules for licensing, testing and packaging, and restrictions around advertising.
A second piece of legislation will ban any marijuana advertising across state borders. Initially that bill would have prohibited only billboard advertising of marijuana, but the proposal was expanded under an amendment adopted in committee.
Braun pointed out earlier in the year that Indiana was “surrounded by at least four states, of which two have legalized recreational marijuana across the board.”
The governor has previously said that “it’s probably time” to allow access to therapeutic cannabis among patients in the state. The governor’s comments coincided with a recent poll that indicated nearly 9 out of 10 Indiana adults support marijuana legalization (87 percent).
Top Republicans in the legislature, however, have openly opposed marijuana reform.
House Speaker Todd Huston, a Republican, has meanwhile questioned the medical value of marijuana and called it “a deterrent for mental health.” Other lawmakers have also suggested the legislators who are in favor of reform want only to increase state revenue.
Meanwhile, in January, GOP members of the legislature rejected a Democratic effort to legalize cannabis within their state.
Rep. Kyle Miller, a Democratic Representative from California, sought to have cannabis removed from the State’s controlled substance list through an amendment. After a short debate, however, the House declared the amendment to be out of order.
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Side Pocket Images. Image courtesy Chris Wallis.