UP IN
SMOKE
Indiana ’ s relationship with marijuana is complicated
STORY AND PHOTOS BY
LIBBY CUNNINGHAM / NEWS AND TRIBUNE
Despite a majority of the country legalizing marijuana in some capacity , Indiana hasn ’ t made any moves to even allow medical use in the state .
One of the state ’ s top marijuanapolicy attorneys said he ’ s been working for five decades to make this happen and to make use equitable among all people .
In 2019 the NAACP released a resolution about cannabis use . It called for “ the decriminalization of cannabis ; endorses legal , regulated markets for medical and adult-use cannabis ; and urges greater diversity in the cannabis industry , with respect to both ownership and employment .”
It also asked Congress to remove cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and provide equal opportunities in the marijuana industry for poor people and people of color who live in communities that have been disproportionately impacted by arrests and prosecutions .
According to the latest statistics from marijuana advocacy group NORML there were 22,000 marijuana-related arrests in Indiana in 2018 . On average , there were 60 arrests per day and 2.5-arrests per hour . The average age of someone who was arrested was 32-years-old .
A total of 13 bills related to marijuana were introduced in the 2022 legislative session in Indiana , but none of them advanced out of committee .
This means Indiana is still one of 13 states without any kind of medical cannabis law . Indiana also is in the minority and is one of 19 states that still imposes jail time for small possession of the drug .
Indiana lawmakers will spend time discussing cannabis over
28 2022 Diversity Magazine