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Indiana lawmakers from both parties again filed bills this year aimed at legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana, but Republican leaders say there is no hope for progress on legislation in 2024.
“Are we going to legalize cannabis this session? That’s not going to be the case,” Senate Pro Tempore Rodric Bray, R-Martinsville, told reporters Tuesday.
Marijuana over the last several years has become an annual topic during the legislative session. Lawmakers file bills every session that later die without seeing much debate.
Much of this comes down to the positions of Republican leaders. Gov. Eric Holcomb has long said he would not support marijuana legalization until it is dealt with at the federal level. Bray and House Speaker Todd Huston, R-Fishers, both said in November they did not expect the issue to advance in their chambers in 2024.
Last year, 13 bills related to legalizing or decriminalizing marijuana died in the Indiana legislative session. The only one that even got a hearing would have decriminalized possession of up to two ounces of marijuana.
Meanwhile, Ohio voters decided in November to legalize recreational marijuana. That leaves three states bordering Indiana — Ohio, Illinois and Michigan — where recreational marijuana is legal.
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