The House Courts and Criminal Code Committee heard HB 1028 authored by Rep. Lucas regarding marijuana. The bill decriminalizes the possession of: (1) 30 grams or less of marijuana; or (2) five grams or less of hash oil or hashish; by making the violation a Class D infraction. The bill provides that a person who knowingly or intentionally possesses an instrument, a device, or another object that the person intends to use for introducing marijuana into the person’s body commits a Class D infraction. The bill also establishes a per se intoxication level of 10 nanograms of THC per milliliter of whole blood for purposes of operating while intoxicated laws, and requires that the analysis of controlled substances in a person’s blood measure only the controlled substance and not the metabolites of the controlled substance.
The bill was amended by consent to strike the majority of the bill but leave the language regarding the nanogram limit (now set to five (5) nanograms of THC per milliliter of whole blood) to prove intoxication.
The Indiana Public Defender Council and Three Chi, a hemp company, testified in support of the bill. The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council, and the Indiana Law Enforcement Coalition testified in opposition. The amended bill passed 9-2.
Read the bill at: http://www.iga.in.gov/legislative/2021/bills/house/1028