Delta-8 regulation advocates fend off marijuana opponents

Yahoo

25-03-2025

Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, holds up legislative documents from the House floor on Jan. 30, 2025. (Courtesy Indiana House Republicans Flickr)
Indiana marijuana adversaries contend that legislation regulating a similar drug would advance legalization — but a key lawmaker says that's not happening.
'I think that there are maybe some misunderstandings about where we're at on that,' Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, told the Capital Chronicle. 'And so, (I'm) looking to clear that up and work with them to make any changes that might be necessary.'
Teshka is the House sponsor for Senate Bill 478, the Indiana General Assembly's latest attempt to set regulations on a young industry booming in a legal gray area.
The legislation sets out licensing, testing, packaging, age-limit, advertising and other requirements for 'craft hemp flower products.' It's aimed largely at delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), an isomer of delta-9 THC — the major psychoactive component in marijuana.
'The status quo is not acceptable, right? I mean, it truly is the Wild West out there,' Teshka said.
Delta-8 legal clarification unlikely as Statehouse stalemate persists
The Senate has repeatedly resisted attempts to regulate, while the concept has enjoyed success in the House. This year's package, however, originated in the Senate and won approval in that chamber.
But changes accepted in a House committee last Wednesday turned the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council's (IPAC) neutrality to opposition, and triggered alarm bells among marijuana critics.
'Advocates for full marijuana legalization amended the bill in a way that I think advances their dangerous agenda,' wrote Micah Clark, who leads Indiana's chapter of the American Family Association, in a Thursday alert. It was titled, 'Is Indiana legalizing marijuana?'
At the time, Teshka said he intended to 'remedy' a 'well-intended' Senate amendment that altered the definition of hemp and included other cannabinoids. IPAC representative Chris Daniels called the edits 'an overcorrection.'
Daniels said striking 'precursors' out of several provisions would complicate testing and enforcement efforts. He offered THCA, a precursor to delta-9 THC, as an example.
'If someone sells a product that is 40% THCA, … that would meet the bill, since we're limited to 0.3% delta-9 THC, but when that product is heated up … it will turn into a high-potency delta-9 THC,' Daniels said. 'This is the same issue that the lab has when we submit these products … the testing process heats that product up.'
That could force testing in private, out-of-state labs, per Daniels — 'which is going to be an astronomical fiscal for us.'
Teshka disagreed with those fears.
The legislation, he said, maintains bans on the sale of THCA and craft hemp flower within Indiana — although farmers could grow the latter for sale elsewhere.
He observed that the Office of the Indiana State Chemist currently tests growing plants for total THC content. But he acknowledged that levels can spike between testing and harvest. And the office, which oversees hemp growers and handlers, doesn't regulate finished products intended for retail sale or purchase.
Asked if product testing is available, Teshka said, 'We can test in-state … I think what (IPAC is) saying is that the state police lab doesn't have the capability to do it.'
He said the chemist's office and third-party vendors within Indiana can do it, but also wondered 'if there's some money out there for them to get that equipment' to test. That's despite questions, Teshka continued, that current technology can't differentiate between legal hemp and banned marijuana.
Teshka said he and IPAC would meet Monday afternoon to consider clarifications.
IPAC's Daniels also identified the amendment's milligram limits as concerning.
Craft hemp flower products would have to contain less than 0.3% of delta-8, delta-9 or hexahydrocannabinol THC by weight or volume. Gummies, other edibles and tinctures would be capped to 100 milligrams of THC per serving and 3,000 per package; drinks would be limited to 25 milligrams per unit and 600 per package; and e-liquid would have to contain less than 3 grams of THC per device. The amendment provides for a 'variance' of up to 20% from the limits.
'So the concern is, when we broaden that definition, to a point, Indiana, while trying to regulate this product, becomes a state where we can sell some of the highest-potency products, more than any state that's legalized marijuana,' Daniels told the committee.
Teshka maintained that the language 'significantly rein(s) in the market,' noting that products of 1,000 milligrams per serving are currently available.
'We came in at 10% of what's on the market right now,' he said. Conversations about the limits 'are ongoing.'
Teshka said Indiana should still take action on delta-8 during this legislative session: 'If we go another year without doing anything, then we're just continuing to kick the can down the road and and allow this thing to fester.'
After passing out of committee on an 8-3 vote, the bill awaits a finance-focused hearing in the House Ways and Means Committee.
Meanwhile, a federal judge last week dismissed a nearly two-year-old delta-8 legality lawsuit for lack of standing. The dismissal was without prejudice, so the plaintiffs could choose to re-file in state court.
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