A bill in Indiana has the hemp industry on edge. SB 209 would criminalize Delta 8 possession, consumption, and sales. Senators Liz Brown, R, and Michael Young, R, wrote SB 209 to change the definition of industrial hemp to not say Delta 9 THC, but THC in general. This would include Delta 8 THC, Delta 10 THC, THCO, THCV, and THCP, which are up and coming cannabinoids.
What is Delta 8 THC?
Industrial hemp legalized federally at the end of 2018 when former President Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill. There, industrial hemp became defined as containing no more than 0.3 percent Delta 9 THC. After the Farm Bill’s passage, several states, including Indiana, adopted the same definition of industrial hemp for their own state programs.
There is a distinct difference between Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC, which goes all the way down to their molecular structure. This difference is what makes Delta 8 THC less potent and more controllable without some of the unwanted side effects from Delta 9 THC. And in states that don’t have medical or recreational cannabis legalized, Delta 8 THC continues to rise in popularity.
Other states, such as North Dakota and Nevada, recently made Delta 8 illegal for citizens. Other states, including Michigan, are looking to regular Delta 8 with their hemp and cannabis programs to make sure things are safe for citizens. Only a handful of states have completely banned Delta 8 THC. Those are:
Last year, Alabama and Texas both looked to ban Delta 8 THC. But either the bill was overturned or the session ended, effectively killing the bill before it could move forward. Indiana looks to be the next state to consider the legality of hemp, including Delta 8 THC.
SB 209 Amendment
After SB 209 moved to the House, lawmakers approved an amendment. Instead of just banning Delta 8 THC outright, the bill should be sent to a small summer committee to thoroughly research and understand Delta 8 THC. Once that is done, then the committee could make a recommendation on if Delta 8 THC should be banned or not.
“As [SB 209] came out of the Senate, there was a probation on delta-8 THC in the bill. In committee, we took that out and sent it to the summer study committee because there’s a lot of confusion on what that is,” said Representative Gregory Steuerwald, R.
Another representative, Jim Lucas, R, a cannabis advocate, also spoke about the importance of Delta 8 THC for Hoosiers. “States with medical cannabis laws had a 24.8% lower mean annual opioid overdose mortality rate compared with states without medical cannabis laws,” he explained, referencing recent research.
Activist Response
The branch chair of the Indiana NORML advocacy group is Jason Straw. He expressed concern regarding banning Delta 8 THC within the Hoosier state. “When Indiana makes a product like delta-8 illegal, [consumers] have to either go out of state – taking their tax dollars with them – to get what they need or buy cannabis illegally on the street, thus risking the quality of the product.”
Straw also explains that banning Delta 8 THC wouldn’t just affect Hoosiers who consume Delta 8 THC casually or recreationally. It would also harm those who have come to rely on Delta 8 THC. Those suffering from opioid addiction, Parkinson’s, and PTSD have found Delta 8 THC an effective alternative to Delta 9 THC, which is illegal in Indiana.
Next Steps
The Indiana House approved an amended version of SB 209 with a vote of 91-1 in favor. The bill now returns to the Senate for debate. Because there is an attached amendment, the Senate could send the bill to a conference committee to reconcile the differences between the Senate version of SB 209 and the House’s version. No vote or discussion date has been decided yet. As more information becomes available, we will update you with the latest.
Make sure to check back for more cannabis, hemp, and psychedelic related news.