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Indiana legislation to make CBD oil legal heads to conference committee

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A bill to define what cannabidiol oil is legal in Indiana and how it’s marketed advanced Tuesday.

The House of Representatives passed the bill 93-0. On Feb. 5, a similar measure passed in Senate 35-13. A conference committee will work out a few differences between the two versions before it goes to Gov. Eric Holcomb for his consideration.

State Rep. William Friend, a Republican from Macy, last week said, “We want to make it legal here in Indiana for people to own, possess, market this CBD oil with a 3-tenths-percent or less THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) level.”

Friend and State Sen. Mike Young had championed their “Low THC hemp extract” CBD oil bill. Young, a Republican from Indianapolis, said last week, “CBD oil. It’s an amazing product. It doesn’t harm you. All it can do is help you.”

Cannabinoids have been studied for anti-inflammatory effects that may play a role in pain relief, according to WebMD.

Indiana had passed a law last year to allow the use of CBD oil, but Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill said the law legalized CBD oil only for patients of treatment-resistant epilepsy. Their caregiver can also possess it. They had to register with the state’s Department of Health.