Last week, a psilocybin research bill in Indiana was sent to the desk of Gov. Eric Holcomb. The bill was recently passed in the Senate in February (Senate Bill 139), followed by the House Public Health Committee shortly afterwards.

Following the end of the 2024 legislative session on March 8, bill sponsor Sen. Ed Charbonneau published a press release about his pride in working toward passing three different bills. The first would help make child care more affordable for Indianans, and the second included an expansion to health plans to include coverage for searching biomarkers for diagnosis or condition treatment. 

However, the third bill includes a mention of SB-139. “Another bill I worked on this session was Senate Bill 139, which would have established a fund to aid Indiana research institutions in studying the potential use of psilocybin in treating mental health and other medical conditions, especially in veterans and first responders,” Charbonneau wrote. “While SB 139 did not make it through the legislative process, the language was added to House Enrolled Act 1259, which would also expand the number of people eligible to provide health care services.”

Now the bill is being sent to the desk of Gov. Holcomb for final review. If SB-139 became law, it would create a therapeutic psilocybin research fund that would be managed by the Indiana Department of Health. The fund would provide financial assistance to research institutions to study psilocybin as a method of treating mental health or other conditions. The bill currently states conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, migraines, alcohol use disorder, and tobacco use disorder.

Additionally, it works to compare “the efficacy of psilocybin as a treatment for mental health and other medical conditions…with the efficacy of other current treatment options for mental health and other medical conditions.”

One requirement of institutions that apply to research psilocybin would include the use of veterans or first responders in their study as they “Evaluate and determine whether psilocybin is an effective treatment for mental health and other medical conditions.” After the study is concluded, the researchers would then submit a report of their findings to the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, the Indiana Behavioral Health Commission, and Human Services, as well as “state department and division of mental health and addiction.”

If passed, these processes to organize applications would begin starting on July 1, 2024.

Last year in November, the Interim Study Committee on Public Health, Behavioral Health and Human Services held its last meeting and issued a report recommending that legislators consider developing a psilocybin pilot program in 2024 “that strikes a balance between access, research, and prudence.”

At the meeting, Charbonneau explained that he’s already spoken with educational institutions that are interested in studying psilocybin. “I have had discussions with both [Indiana University] Health and with Purdue University,” said Charbonneau. “I spoke to 150 pharmacy students at Purdue, and afterward had a chance to speak with the dean of the pharmacy program…and he texted Dr. Jerome Adams, who’s now at Purdue University.” Adams previously served as U.S. surgeon general under former President Donald Trump.

The report made a distinction between medical cannabis and psilocybin, and described psilocybin-assisted therapy as more beneficial. “Many people conflate increased access to psilocybin assisted therapy with the issue of increased access to medical and recreational cannabis,” the report said. “However, the committee hearing made it clear that the evidence for psilocybin assisted therapy is promising and significantly more robust and the two issues are unrelated.”

Indiana’s neighboring states of Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio all have some form of cannabis legalization now. The only remaining state is Kentucky to the south, which currently has legalized medical cannabis but won’t officially launch until 2025.

However, Sen. J.D. Ford told WFYI Indianapolis in January that the lack of progress is due to legislators refusing to discuss legalization. “You’ve got the elected officials who are unwilling to have the conversation and you’ve got some of these other powerful lobbying groups that are continuing to block conversation, block bills from getting a committee hearing,” Ford said.

In a press event in January, Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray shut down inquiries from reporters regarding cannabis decriminalization or legalization. “Are we going to legalize cannabis this session? That’s not going to be the case,” Bray said. 

Previously in 2019, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb has previously stated that he will not take action on any cannabis legalization bills until it has been legalized on the federal level. “If the law changed, we would look at all the positive or adverse impacts it would have,” Holcomb said. “I’m not convinced other states have made a wise decision.”

In 2023, he did admit that decriminalizing cannabis in small amounts makes sense. “I do not believe that simple possession at certain limits should derail someone’s life,” Holcomb said.

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A Republican lawmaker in Indiana is putting his weight behind a pair of bills that would bring legal marijuana to the Hoosier State.

GOP state Sen. Jon Ford “recently signed on to support two bills this legislative session related to cannabis and its possible future use in the state,” according to local news station WTWO/WAWV, with the legislator saying “he wants to begin to have these discussions … due to the area he represents being on the border with Illinois, where recreational marijuana is legal.”

Ford indicated that he was driven to support the measures after conversations with members of law enforcement, who said that the discrepancy between Indiana and other bordering states has led to confusion.

“It’s hard for law enforcement to understand where we are on the issue, so I really wanted to support the bill so we can have that discussion,” Ford told WTWO/WAWV.

Ford authored the two bills with a pair of Democratic lawmakers.

Senate Bill 336 would establish “a procedure for the lawful production and sale of cannabis in Indiana.”

Senate Bill 377, meanwhile, would establish the following: 

“Permits the use of cannabis by: (1) a person at least 21 years of age; and (2) a person with a serious medical condition as determined by the person’s physician. Establishes the adult use cannabis excise tax, and requires a retailer to transfer the tax to the department of state revenue for deposit in the state general fund. Exempts veterans from payment of the sales tax on medical or adult use cannabis. Establishes a cannabis program to permit the cultivation, processing, testing, transportation, and sale of cannabis by holders of a valid permit. Establishes the Indiana Cannabis Commission (ICC) as a state agency to oversee, implement, and enforce the program, and establishes the ICC advisory committee to review the effectiveness of the program. Requires that permit holders take steps to prevent diversion of cannabis to unauthorized persons. Requires that cannabis and cannabis products be properly labeled, placed in child resistant packaging, and tested by an independent testing laboratory before being made available for purchase. Prohibits packaging cannabis in a manner that is appealing to children. Authorizes research on cannabis in accordance with rules set forth by the ICC. Establishes a procedure for the expungement of a cannabis related conviction if the act constituting the conviction becomes legal. Makes conforming amendments.”

It is probably a long-shot for either bill to become law this year, however. 

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, has said previously that he isn’t keen on the state legalizing marijuana before the federal government. 

“The law that needs to change is the federal law,” Holcomb said in 2021. “It is illegal right now for recreational use, for medicinal use. There are states that have ignored that law. I will not ignore any law whether I agree with it or disagree with it or disagree with it so that’s the law that needs to change.”

But last year, after President Joe Biden announced that he would issue pardons to all individuals with federal cannabis convictions, Holcomb said that Indiana would not be following the White House’s lead.

“The president should work with Congress, not around them, to discuss changes to the law federally, especially if he is requesting governors to overturn the work local prosecutors have done by simply enforcing the law,” Holcomb said at the time. “Until these federal law changes occur, I can’t in good conscience consider issuing blanket pardons for all such offenders.”

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Pardons are still a hot topic after President Joe Biden announced on Oct. 6 that he would be pardoning citizens who have federal convictions for cannabis, and asked that state governors do the same to provide relief for people in their regions. However, Indiana Gov. Holcomb recently stated that he would not be pardoning simple cannabis convictions.

“The president should work with Congress, not around them, to discuss changes to the law federally, especially if he is requesting governors to overturn the work local prosecutors have done by simply enforcing the law,” Holcomb said, according to ABC57. “Until these federal law changes occur, I can’t in good conscience consider issuing blanket pardons for all such offenders.”

Holcomb added that his state already offers expungement programs. “What Indiana has done, is act proactively, not reactively, by creating an opportunity for those who have maintained a clean record since a conviction of simple marijuana possession and a number of lower-level offenses, to apply for—and receive—an expungement which seals their record,” Holcomb said.

However he did confirm that many people who currently hold cannabis convictions on their record deserve to have an opportunity to have it removed. “I do agree that many of these offenses should not serve as a life sentence after an individual has served their time,” Holcomb added. “Expunged convictions cannot be disclosed to employers, to those who grant licenses, or when seeking housing.”

At a luncheon on Oct. 12, Holcomb shared his opinions on favoring expungement over pardons. “If you are busted for simple possession of marijuana and stay clean for a number of years, five years, then you can pursue expungement. That is never disclosed and that will never be in the way. If you do the crime and pay the time, then you can move on,” Holcomb said, adding that he does not believe cannabis should be in the same Schedule category as substances such as heroin or morphine. “But that’s Congress’s job.”

In December 2021, Holcomb began ramping up for the legislative session which began in January 2022. Although at the time, the Indiana Democratic Party stated that adult-use cannabis legalization was a top priority, Holcomb explained his support for medical access instead. “The law that needs to change is the federal law,” said Holcomb in December 2021.

News outlet WSBT asked Indiana legislators about Biden’s recent pardons, and many were supportive, but leaned toward federal descheduling. “I think this does reveal that legalization is inevitable in our future and whether or not Indiana wants to set that up at the state level or wait for the federal government to do that,” said Rep. Maureen Bauer. “So, for us, it’s still [a] schedule one drug. And I don’t see the state of Indiana changing the legalization of the drug until federally it’s descheduled,” added Sen. Mike Bohacek.

Possession of cannabis is a misdemeanor in Indiana, as of 2014. Currently, the state of Indiana has not legalized adult-use or medical cannabis. According to The Indiana Lawyer, over 94,000 people were charged with a cannabis possession misdemeanor between 2018-2021.

A pardon isn’t enough to release people from prison, partially because many people’s sentences are more complicated. According to Marion County Sheriff’s Office Captain Mitch Gore as of Oct. 13, the Indianapolis Adult Detention Center only had one inmate who was convicted for cannabis possession, while 320 others were convicted both because of possession as well as other non-cannabis related charges.

Allen County Sheriff’s Office Captain Steve Stone also confirmed that not very many people could be released immediately. “It would be a very, very low number. We wouldn’t even arrest you because you’d be out before we were even done doing the paperwork,” Stone said.

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