31-01-2025
Could lawmakers legalize marijuana this year? These are the bills to watch.
The push for marijuana legalization in Indiana has new money and new faces behind it. It's more bipartisan than ever before. And there's a new governor who's more amenable to certain aspects of the debate than the previous one.
Every year there have been many, sometimes dozens, of bills attempting to move the needle, but they always fail to make it into law. Indiana is now surrounded on all sides by states where some level of cannabis is legal. Could this finally be the year for one of these bills to go the distance?
Indiana General Assembly: With a new governor and Republican-backed marijuana lobbying effort, will anything change?
Leaders behind a new lobbying group, Safe and Regulated Indiana, are projecting optimism. Some lawmakers behind the bills are far more tempered in their expectations: This could take multiple election cycles, but it does seem like there's some momentum. Still, so far this year none of the bills legalizing marijuana have received a hearing, the first step toward becoming law.
Here are the marijuana-related bills lawmakers have proposed this session:
Four bills would allow people with a medical condition and their doctor's permission to use medical marijuana, and establish a regulatory framework to oversee a medical marijuana program:
, by Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty
Senate Bill 341, by Sen. Michael Young, R-Indianapolis
, by Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis
House Bill 1178, by Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour. This bill also includes a host of other regulations about the packaging and labeling of medical marijuana.
Four bills would legalize the production and sale of marijuana for adults, establish a tax and create a new state agency to oversee the regulations:
House Bill 1630, by Rep. Heath VanNatter, R-Kokomo
Senate Bill 113, by Sen. Rodney Pol, D-Chesterton, and Sen. Kyle Walker, R-Fishers
, by Rep. Blake Johnson, D-Indianapolis
House Bill 1654, by Rep. Zach Payne, R-Charlestown. This bill would set the legal age at 18, whereas the others set it at 21.
, by Rep. Heath VanNatter, R-Kokomo, would decriminalize the possession of two ounces or less of marijuana. This isn't the same as legalization, which would involve regulating a market.
Senate Bill 166, by Sens. Spencer Deery, R-West Lafayette, and Tyler Johnson, R-Leo; as well as , by Rep. Timothy Wesco, R-Osceola, would prohibit the advertising of the product or a related business by any medium ― billboard, digital, etc.
House Bill 1026, by Rep. Joanna King, R-Middlebury, narrowly focuses a prohibition on physical signs located within 1,000 feet of places where kids are, such as schools and public parks.
House Bill 1119, by Rep. Wendy McNamara, R-Evansville would set the legal limit for the amount of THC that can be found in a person's saliva to be penalized with an OWI charge. Current law says you can get charged if you have any measurable amount in your blood; this bill would set the threshold at five nanograms per milliliter in your saliva, the common limit in states where marijuana is legal.
Contact IndyStar state government and politics reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@ or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Marijuana bills filed in the Indiana legislature in 2025
