Latest news with #SenateBill478
Indianapolis Star
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana lawmakers may regulate this THC product. Todd Rokita fears a 'parallel cannabis market'
Even industry leaders in the cannabis world are asking for regulation on the low-THC products that have flooded corner stores in the last several years ― products like Delta 8 and Delta 10, which are not traditional marijuana, but low-concentration derivatives from a different cannabis plant called hemp. After about five years of debate, Indiana lawmakers are getting ready to send a bill to Gov. Mike Braun that could do just that. Their largest opponent, however, is their attorney general, who contends that some of these products are merely cheat codes for mimicking the effects of regular marijuana. In a letter to legislative leadership and Braun Tuesday, Attorney General Todd Rokita called Senate Bill 478 a 'Trojan horse' for legalizing intoxicating THC products. "The glaring vagueness of this bill threatens public safety and undermines our state's laws by creating enough loopholes for high-potency, intoxicating THC products to be sold under the guise of craft hemp regulation," he said in a statement to IndyStar. "By permitting the sale of these products, SB 478 intentionally creates a huge drug loophole or parallel cannabis market that operates outside Indiana's marijuana laws ― laws which remain in place at both state and federal levels." Lawmakers and prosecutors who support the bill, however, contend that it doesn't settle the question of whether these products are actually legal; it merely adds rules and regulations to a marketplace that already exists and is running rampant. "This is not marijuana," Sen. Travis Holdman, the author of multiple such bills over the years, said in an early committee hearing. "It is low THC, 0.3% or lower. We get all tied up in the discussion over marijuana, so we do nothing, so the problem continues." "We can bury our head in the sand one more year, but I ask you, please don't do that," the Markle Republican said. A legal gray area has persisted on these products since the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp federally. Hemp, or hemp-derived products, must contain 0.3% or less of Delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive compound that creates the "high" from marijuana, to be legal. The marijuana plant, which remains illegal federally and in Indiana as a schedule 1 drug, can have concentrations of THC as high as 10-20%. Indiana also legalized hemp in 2018 for industrial purposes, categorizing it as a legal agricultural product distinct from marijuana. Hemp can be used to make seed oils and fibers, opening up a market for farmers. But neither the farm bill, nor Indiana's copycat law, specifically mentioned cannabanoid variations Delta 8 and Delta 10. Since these are hemp-derived products, their sale nationwide has been seen as a legal loophole. Neither the Food and Drug Administration nor Congress have followed up with actual regulations on these products. There is nothing to prevent a corner store from selling gummies with, say, 250 milligrams or even 1,000 milligrams of Delta 8, which for many people could be very intoxicating. Nor is there anything to prevent children from buying them. School districts across the state are spending money on tools like THC and vape detectors to try to get a handle on this, said Chris Lagoni, executive director of the Indiana Small and Rural Schools Association. It's easier for minors to get access to these gummies than to alcohol, he said. Senate Bill 478 in its current form would establish the Alcohol and Tobacco Commission as the regulatory body over these products, prohibit their sale to people under 21 years of age and set dosage limits of 100 milligrams per serving and 3,000 milligrams per package. Up to 20,000 retailers could apply for a permit to sell them on a first-come-first-served basis. It's now being negotiated in a conference committee. The legislative session is anticipated to wrap up this week. Rokita's letter Tuesday follows up on a similar letter he sent last week to Indiana General Assembly members, just before the House approved the bill 60-37. In 2023, he published an "official opinion" in 2023 that hemp derivatives like Delta 8 and Delta 10 are illegal. Though his opinion is not legally binding, the lack of clarity has stalled the hemp industry, said Justin Swanson, a lobbyist and president of the Midwest Hemp Council. "I feel like we could have taken care of this years ago instead of the chaos we've had," he told IndyStar. "The status quo is unacceptable for everybody." Rokita is now asking lawmakers to either ban "all synthetically produced cannabinoids," or at least reduce the 100-mg potency cap to 2.5 mg. Industry leaders and some lawmakers argue, though, that there is a wide range of tolerances various people can have to these products. It's not unusual, Swanson said, for elderly veterans who've built up a tolerance to take a couple hundred milligrams of Delta 8 a day to ease their PTSD symptoms and not feel intoxicated. One of the fastest growing user bases is the over-50 crowd, said Justin Journay, founder of 3Chi, a cannabanoid producer in central Indiana. He moved his company here from Ohio after Indiana legalized hemp in 2018 and set in place testing requirements, and soon he started talking to lawmakers around setting some rules in place for the broader array of hemp derivatives. He said he wants regulation because having some bad apples in the space only damages the industry's reputation. "There was a big learning curve to even understand what I was talking about," Journay said. Journay himself, a biochemist by training, avoided trying hemp products for a long time, because of his negative preconceived notions about them. But then he tried CBD oil to treat a shoulder industry, and, he said, "it was life changing." He's found lawmakers, and even Braun, open to learning about the industry, even as it remains a divisive subject within the supermajority party. "If you don't use cannabis," Journay said, "it's a lot easier to fall back into reefer madness propaganda."
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Delta-8 regulations clear House but headed into negotiations
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, addresses a crowd on Dec. 18, 2024 in Indianapolis. (Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Contentious regulations for marijuana-like products advanced through the Indiana House of Representatives on Tuesday, but will have to survive closed-door negotiations before crossing Gov. Mike Braun's desk. 'I filed a dissent,' Sen. Travis Holdman, the measure's author, told the Capital Chronicle. 'We've got some clean-up to do,' the Markle Republican said. '… We'll be working on it.' Products with legally low concentrations of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol have proliferated in Indiana, alongside those containing delta-8 THC and other isomers. Attempts to regulate the nascent industry, which is booming on shaky legal footing, have failed repeatedly — but are nearing law, in the form of Senate Bill 478. Delta-8 regulatory qualms go unaddressed as Indiana House approves homelessness, DEI measures 'These products, being legal under federal law, but having no regulatory structure here in the state, means that technically, it's not illegal to sell these products to minors (or) to target youth with advertising or packaging, and that there's no testing requirements to protect consumers from potentially dangerous adulterants,' said Rep. Jake Teshka, the House sponsor, on the chamber's floor Tuesday. The measure sets out advertising, age-limit, licensing, packaging, testing and other requirements over the currently unregulated substances. It authorizes the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission to oversee the industry, including approving up to 20,000 retail permits. Lawmakers have put it through a whopping seven rounds of edits. But critics — including Indiana's attorney general and anti-marijuana groups — still have objected, arguing the language would expand existing loopholes. 'With Senate Bill 478, I think we finally have an opportunity to rein in this market,' Teshka, R-North Liberty, said. 'We have the opportunity to provide real clarity to law enforcement, to protect Hoosier youth, to empower our farmers and to protect our consumers.' Members of Teshka's own caucus remained skeptical. 'I recognize that … the General Assembly should take action on the current state of this product,' said Rep. Tim Wesco, R-Osceola. '… (But) I don't feel like this is the appropriate action.' Instead, it's 'moving us further down a path of increasing — dramatically increasing — access to these products that are known to have adverse and negative effects,' Wesco continued. '… We're setting up a framework that we're likely not going to go back on, that is just going to expand from here.' Lawmakers from both parties crossed sides in the 60-37 vote. The bill next heads to conference committee for negotiations. Conferees will hammer out a compromise. If it survives that process, it'll head back to each chamber for a final vote before going to Braun. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After third committee vote, Delta-8 regulations head to House floor
Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, answers committee questions about the delta-8 regulatory bill he is sponsoring on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muñiz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Legislation regulating a marijuana-like drug already available throughout Indiana inched closer to reality Wednesday, after clearing its third committee vote — and another round of revisions — in the House. It next heads to the chamber's floor. Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol — the major psychoactive component in marijuana — remains illegal in Indiana. But the delta-8 THC business is booming. Attempts to regulate the isomer have failed repeatedly, typically in the Senate. But when Senate Bill 478 crossed out of that chamber, House lawmakers got to work. Committees focused on commerce and finance vetted the measure, making substantive changes each time. On Wednesday, the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee got its turn, approving another set of edits intended to curry Senate support and avoid potentially messy negotiations. 'I certainly am one that thinks that the status quo is unacceptable,' Rep. Jake Teshka, R-North Liberty, told the committee. 'And so, we need to get this bill in a position where we can get a concurrence over in the Senate.' Senate Bill 478 sets out advertising, age-limit, licensing, packaging, testing and other requirements for the hemp-derived products. The Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission would gain regulatory power over the industry. A major amendment, taken by consent on Wednesday, sets a cap on the number of retail permits at 9,400. Chris Serrack, the commission's deputy director, said that's an estimate of how many retailers carry the products today — about 75% of the current 12,000 tobacco certificate holders. The calculation doesn't include alcoholic beverage permittees with on-premise-only services, he said. The first-come, first-serve system would function in contrast to the population-based model governing alcohol permits. Doing that for delta-8 would be 'burdensome,' per Serrack, because it requires auctions and records-keeping. Several committee members feared those factors combined would lock businesses already selling the products out of the industry. The amended legislation also blocks the commission from issuing permits to grocery stores larger than 2,500 square feet or to any drug stores. It limits eligibility to convenience stores, and to current alcoholic beverage permittees for on-premise consumption. When asked why, Teshka told the committee, 'Again, … my interest here is that we get a concurrence in the Senate.' The rationale, he continued, 'is that, you know, we want to limit the proliferation of these products. So, where they're being sold now is where we should keep them.' Another provision would require permit-holders to keep all craft hemp invoices and make them available for commission inspection. Other additions offer punishments for products 'adulterated' with illegal substances and bans driving under the influence of any craft hemp products. The amendment also removed tax language added last week by the House Ways and Means Committee. Teshka said the provision would get moved elsewhere because new taxes must go in House-originated legislation. Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, accentuated the rare third round of committee vetting while questioning Serrack about the new penalties. 'I had a quick question on the penalties, since I guess that's what this committee is supposed to worry about the most,' Pierce quipped. 'Were you involved in figuring out what the penalty should be?' Serrack affirmed his agency's involvement, and that the penalties were essentially mirrored from existing alcohol law. Earlier, Teshka indicated a third hearing wasn't always the plan. 'I appreciate you all. I know we're getting to the end (of the legislative session) and we put an extra meeting on your calendar that wasn't there before,' he told lawmakers, one day before the Thursday committee hearing deadline. Rep. Wendy McNamara told the Capital Chronicle that Senate Bill 478 was recommitted to her committee because it would create a new penalty structure. She said any new felonies typically come her way. The committee advanced the legislation on a 9-3 tally. Republicans were all three 'no' votes. It heads to the House floor for potential further amendments, then a final vote. If the House's numerous changes don't earn a Senate concurrence, representation from each chamber would have to negotiate a final version. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Delta-8 regulation advocates fend off marijuana opponents
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. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal judge dismisses Indiana delta-8 legality lawsuit
() A nearly two-year-old legal battle is over — for now — after a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit over the legality of delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) goods and other low-THC hemp products. Judge James R. Sweeney II, of the U.S. District Court for Indiana's Southern District, wrote the suit is 'fundamentally' a 'question for consideration by Indiana's courts.' Delta-8 is an isomer of delta-9 THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Plaintiffs 3Chi, Midwest Hemp Council and Wall's Organics filed suit in 2023, several months after an opinion from Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita found the products are illegal. The opinion was a direct response to a request by now-former Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council. Local law enforcement agencies took note, with some notifying retailers they could get in trouble or even raiding retailers, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs argued that Rokita's opinion violates the 2018 federal Farm Bill — which removed hemp from the definition of marijuana — and similar provisions in Indiana law by 'unilaterally' reclassifying their products as Schedule I controlled drugs. They also sought an injunction. The judge determined the plaintiffs had standing to sue. But in an order filed Tuesday, Sweeney found they 'have not met their burden of demonstrating that their alleged injury is redressable by the Court.' The 'problem,' Sweeney wrote, is that Rokita's opinion isn't binding and isn't law. 'Plaintiffs do not seek a declaration of their rights under federal law, given that no dispute over the Farm Bill is at issue; rather, they ask the Court to find that the Official Opinion is preempted by federal law,' the judge continued. 'But, as the Court has explained, an opinion is not state law, so it cannot, by definition, be preempted.' Nullifying the opinion would still leave prosecutors and law enforcement free to interpret state law as they see fit — and so would leaving the opinion alive, per Sweeney. And, with the prosecutor and law enforcement officer defendants already dismissed from the lawsuit, Rokita was the only defendant remaining. The judge wrote that plaintiffs 'have produced no evidence to demonstrate that (Rokita) bears any responsibility for initiating prosecutions, making arrests, or enacting criminal legislation,' so an injunction wouldn't do anything. 'That the Plaintiffs have hung their hats on challenging the Official Opinion in federal court is their own cross to bear,' he concluded. 'But fundamentally, this is a dispute about the proper interpretation of state law, which … is a question for consideration by Indiana's courts.' He dismissed the case without prejudice, so the plaintiffs could choose to re-file in state court. Lawmakers, meanwhile, haven't coalesced to clarify whether the products are legal or not. They have indicated a Senate-House stalemate is unlikely to give — but Senate Bill 478, regulating this 'gray area,' remains alive in the ongoing legislative session. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
