Indiana State Inches Forward into the Present by Considering Cannabis Reform Initiative

Despite the increased focus on reform in
almost every state, Indiana has held firm with notoriously draconian punishment
for simple possession.  The state ranks next
to places like Texas with their mandatory steep fines and/or up to a year in
jail for minute amounts of possession. However, this regime may finally change in
the months to come. 

According to Wane,
State Senator Karen Tallian has introduced a bill to legalize a new medical cannabis
program in the state and regulate it under a new state agency entitled the
Department of Marijuana Enforcement, or DOME.

Seemingly, conservative states like Indiana
are realizing that traditional political answers to the cannabis question no
longer apply.  Not only does medical
cannabis promise to provide drastic relief for chronically ill patients, but as
the example of Washington State shows in particular, taxes on the industry can
provide significant relief to cash starved state budgets.

With states like Indiana and Texas inching
towards reform initiatives, it is clear that cannabis reform is beginning to
reach once unreachable heights.