Drug Policy Watch · State Brief 2026

Indiana

Snapshot (structured)

Adult-use cannabis: Illegal. No legalization; possession remains a misdemeanor.
Medical cannabis: Illegal. No comprehensive medical program; only a narrow low-THC CBD allowance exists.
Home grow: Prohibited (no legal cannabis to cultivate).
Intoxicating hemp / hemp THC: Currently sold in a legal gray area; multiple 2026 ban/regulation bills failed. Federal redefinition looms (see Hemp).
Psychedelics: No decriminalization. State funds a therapeutic psilocybin research program (enacted 2024, with veterans and first responders prioritized).
Broad decriminalization: No. A 2026 decriminalization bill (HB 1191) did not advance.
Harm reduction: Syringe services programs authorized (extension became law in 2026 with new restrictions); fentanyl test strips decriminalized effective July 1, 2025; naloxone distributed widely.
Governor (party): Mike Braun (Republican).
Legislature control: Republican supermajority in both chambers (unconfirmed exact seat counts; widely reported as supermajorities).
Citizen ballot initiatives allowed: No. Indiana has no citizen initiative or referendum process.
Enclosure pressure score: 5/5

Cannabis

Indiana remains one of the most restrictive states in the country. As of 2026, cannabis is illegal for both adult use and comprehensive medical use, leaving Indiana among the small group of states (roughly 10) with neither a medical nor adult-use program (https://www.mpp.org/states/indiana/, https://indianacannabis.org/laws). The only narrow allowance is for low-THC CBD products; there is no qualifying-patient medical cannabis system.

Possession penalties remain in force. Per multiple legal summaries, possession of under 30 grams is a Class B misdemeanor (up to 180 days, up to $1,000 fine) and over 30 grams or with a prior is a Class A misdemeanor (up to one year, up to $5,000). Sale or distribution can reach Level 6 or Level 5 felony depending on amount and proximity to schools or youth facilities (https://www.doganlaw.com/indiana-marijuana-law-update-for-2025, https://www.indyjustice.com/blog/indiana-expungement/). These figures are from attorney explainers rather than the statute text and should be treated as indicative.

Home grow: Not permitted, as there is no legal cannabis framework.

Market structure: There is no licensed cannabis market, so there are no license caps, no multistate operator (MSO) presence inside the state, no vertical integration regime, and no cannabis excise tax. Any future market would be built from scratch.

Key 2026 actions: Two legalization-related bills were filed and both stalled. HB 1191 (Rep. Mitch Gore, D) would have decriminalized possession of two ounces or less; HB 1298 (Rep. Jim Lucas, R) would have reclassified cannabis under state law to align with the federal rescheduling move. Both were referred to the House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code and neither received a hearing (https://www.21alivenews.com/2026/01/09/will-indiana-legalize-marijuana-this-year-here-are-bills-that-could-make-it-happen/, https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026/bills/house/1191). The session adjourned sine die on February 27, 2026, without cannabis reform (https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/last-day-of-the-2026-legislative-session/). Sen. Mike Bohacek (R-Michiana Shores) announced he is drafting a state-licensed medical marijuana proposal, reported as targeting the 2027 session (https://mirrorindy.org/medical-marijuana-indiana-republicans-show-openness-to-limited-legalization-as-bohacek-prepares-bill/, https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-gop-senator-announces-new-bill-to-legalize-medical-marijuana-in-the-state/). Governor Braun directed state agencies to begin meeting with medical-marijuana advocates after the federal acting attorney general signed an order reclassifying marijuana to Schedule III (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-gop-governor-directs-state-agencies-to-meet-with-medical-marijuana-advocates-as-federal-rescheduling-takes-effect/, https://www.indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/05/12/indiana-regulators-awaiting-final-federal-marijuana-action-as-lawmaker-drafts-legalization-bill/).

Hemp

Intoxicating hemp products (delta-8, delta-10, and synthesized THC analogs) have been sold in Indiana in a legal gray area created by the federal Farm Bill definition of hemp. Indiana has repeatedly tried and failed to either regulate or ban these products.

In the 2025 session, SB 478 advanced as a regulatory framework (age 21-plus limits, testing, labeling, and a state licensing system). Attorney General Todd Rokita publicly opposed it, arguing it would expand a loophole for high-potency intoxicating THC products under the guise of hemp (https://www.cannabisregulations.ai/cannabis-and-hemp-regulations-compliance-ai-blog/indiana-2025-delta-8-rules-ag-pushback).

In the 2026 session, the most serious effort was SB 250 (Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis), which would have effectively banned delta-8 and other synthetic or intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids. It cleared an early committee hurdle (https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/01/16/indiana-hemp-drug-ban-clears-first-hurdle/) but died after the Senate did not take it up for a third reading before the February 24, 2026 deadline; reporting indicates some of the language was moved into SB 144, which also did not become law (https://www.wbiw.com/2026/02/26/indiana-legislative-session-deadlines-kill-key-cannabis-and-early-voting-bills/). The net result: Indiana entered mid-2026 with no new state hemp THC statute.

Federal exposure and the November 12, 2026 deadline: A federal spending law enacted in November 2025 narrowed the federal definition of hemp, effectively banning most intoxicating hemp-derived THC products. Legal analysts describe a transition period with full enforcement taking effect November 12, 2026 (https://www.regulatoryoversight.com/2025/12/congress-narrows-federal-definition-of-hemp-effectively-banning-most-intoxicating-hemp-products/, https://manzurilaw.com/federal-hemp-law-will-reshape-the-industry-in-2026/). Because Indiana never built its own legal market, the federal change is poised to do what the legislature could not, that is, sweep most intoxicating hemp THC products off Indiana shelves by that date. The precise interaction between the federal definition change and Indiana retail enforcement is unconfirmed and worth watching.

Psychedelics

No decriminalization of psilocybin or other psychedelics. Indiana's posture is research-only. In 2024 then-Governor Eric Holcomb signed a measure creating a therapeutic psilocybin research fund to support Indiana research institutions studying psilocybin for conditions such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, chronic pain, and migraines, with priority for veterans and first responders (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-governor-signs-psilocybin-research-funding-bill-with-focus-on-veterans-and-first-responders/).

In 2025, lawmakers (reported as Rep. Justin Moed, D, and Rep. Jake Teshka, R) filed HB 1166 to appropriate roughly $600,000 across the 2025 and 2026 fiscal years to fund that existing program (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-lawmakers-file-bills-to-legalize-marijuana-and-fund-psilocybin-research-in-2025/, https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2025/bills/house/1166). No 2026 bill to decriminalize or create therapeutic (non-research) psychedelic access has been confirmed.

Broader drug policy

Decriminalization: No general drug decriminalization. The 2026 marijuana decriminalization bill (HB 1191) did not advance.

Harm reduction: - Syringe services programs (SSPs): Indiana authorizes locally approved SSPs. In 2026 the legislature extended state authorization, but with new restrictions, including residency and ID requirements, a one-to-one exchange rule, and minimum-distance buffers from schools and places of worship absent explicit approval. Governor Braun declined to sign the extension, and it became law without his signature (effective via inaction) (https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-19/indiana-house-supports-an-extension-of-the-syringe-service-programs-with-new-requirements, https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-03-10/indiana-syringe-program-extension-becomes-law-without-governors-signature). - Fentanyl test strips: Decriminalized. The legislature removed fentanyl test strips from the paraphernalia definition, effective July 1, 2025 (https://www.wboi.org/2025-02-03/indiana-senate-passes-bill-to-decriminalize-fentanyl-test-strips-eliminate-legal-gray-area). Broader drug-checking equipment beyond fentanyl strips is less clearly covered; status unconfirmed. - Naloxone: Distributed through SSPs and broader public-health channels (https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-19/indiana-house-supports-an-extension-of-the-syringe-service-programs-with-new-requirements).

Sentencing and expungement: There is no marijuana-specific expungement or automatic record-clearing statute. Past convictions can only be cleared through Indiana's general one-time expungement law, with waiting periods (for example, around five years for misdemeanors and eight years for certain felonies) and a once-in-a-lifetime limit (https://www.indyjustice.com/blog/indiana-expungement/, https://www.indyjustice.com/expungements/marijuana-record/).

Overdose and treatment policy: SSPs serve as a primary access point for HIV and hepatitis C testing, naloxone, and referrals to treatment and housing; reported syringe return rates were high (over 87% among participants July 2024 to July 2025) (https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-19/indiana-house-supports-an-extension-of-the-syringe-service-programs-with-new-requirements, https://healthtechquitylab.org/2025/11/21/syringe-exchange-programs-work-indiana-cannot-afford-to-lose-them/).

Political landscape

Governor: Mike Braun (R) (https://ballotpedia.org/Mike_Braun). Braun has signaled openness to a medical-marijuana debate, calling himself "kind of agnostic" and noting that with four neighboring states having some legal cannabis, Indiana will "probably have to address it." He has blamed GOP legislative leaders for inaction and directed agencies to meet with advocates, but his formal power is limited because a gubernatorial veto can be overridden by a simple majority (https://www.wfyi.org/public-affairs/2026-03-21/gov-braun-says-reform-possible-on-states-cannabis-laws, https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-governor-blames-gop-leaders-for-marijuana-legalization-inaction-while-half-of-hoosiers-probably-smoke-it-illegally/).

Legislature: Republican supermajorities in both the House and Senate (exact 2026 seat counts unconfirmed in this research). Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) is a named opponent of legalization, stating "It's no secret that I am not for this" (https://www.wfyi.org/public-affairs/2026-03-21/gov-braun-says-reform-possible-on-states-cannabis-laws).

Reform champions (named): Sen. Mike Bohacek (R) is pushing a state-licensed medical marijuana program; Rep. Jim Lucas (R) pushed cannabis reclassification; Rep. Mitch Gore (D) pushed decriminalization; Reps. Justin Moed (D) and Jake Teshka (R) backed psilocybin research funding (sources above).

Opponents (named): Senate President Pro Tem Rodric Bray (R) on legalization; Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) opposed hemp/delta-8 regulatory expansion. Key committee: House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code handled the 2026 cannabis bills. Other relevant committee assignments are unconfirmed.

Ballot initiatives

Indiana does not allow citizen-initiated statewide ballot measures. It is one of roughly 24 states with no citizen initiative or referendum mechanism; all statewide measures must be referred by the legislature (https://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_ballot_measures_in_Indiana, https://www.wfyi.org/news/articles/why-doesnt-indiana-have-citizen-led-ballot-initiatives). Democratic lawmakers (for example Rep. Sue Errington via a House Joint Resolution) have proposed constitutional amendments to create an initiative process, but these have not advanced (https://indianacitizen.org/voters-voice-ballot-initiatives-touted-by-indiana-democrats-stall-in-gop-dominated-statehouse/). Consequently, there is no pending 2026 cannabis, psychedelic, or drug-policy ballot measure, and a voter-driven path to reform is not available.

Equity and expungement

There are no cannabis social-equity licensing provisions because there is no licensed cannabis market. There is no marijuana-specific or automatic expungement and no record-sealing program tied to cannabis convictions. People with prior marijuana convictions must use Indiana's general expungement statute, which imposes waiting periods and a strict once-in-a-lifetime limit, effectively excluding anyone who has already used their single expungement or who has a disqualifying record (https://www.indyjustice.com/expungements/marijuana-record/, https://www.indyjustice.com/blog/indiana-expungement/). The 2026 SSP extension added residency and ID requirements that may exclude some harm-reduction participants (https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-19/indiana-house-supports-an-extension-of-the-syringe-service-programs-with-new-requirements).

Market and barriers

No legal cannabis market exists, so there are no cannabis tax rates, license fees, residency or capital requirements, license caps, or licensee counts to report; effectively the number of state cannabis licensees is zero. The only revenue-relevant program is the psilocybin research fund (around $600,000 across FY2025 and FY2026) (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-lawmakers-file-bills-to-legalize-marijuana-and-fund-psilocybin-research-in-2025/). Intoxicating hemp has been sold through ordinary retail (smoke shops, gas stations, online) without a dedicated state licensing regime, since the bills that would have created one failed; that channel is now exposed to the federal hemp redefinition effective November 12, 2026 (https://manzurilaw.com/federal-hemp-law-will-reshape-the-industry-in-2026/).

Enclosure read

Indiana is heavily fenced, but the fence is mostly prohibition rather than corporate consolidation. Hoosiers are fenced out of any legal cannabis market entirely; there is no medical or adult-use access, no home grow, and continuing criminal exposure for possession. People with records are fenced out of relief by a one-time, slow expungement system with no cannabis-specific carve-out, and the public is fenced out of direct reform because there is no citizen ballot initiative. The one space that had grown organically, intoxicating hemp retail, is now being closed by federal action that the state itself could not pass, which will fence out small hemp retailers around November 12, 2026 without opening any regulated alternative. Who consolidates? In the near term, no one inside Indiana, because there is no market to capture; the practical winner of the status quo is continued prohibition and neighboring-state operators who draw Hoosier customers across the border. If a narrow medical program emerges (Bohacek 2027, with possible license caps and physician gatekeeping), it could open as a tightly limited, license-capped market favoring a small number of well-capitalized operators. Score: 5/5 (corrected July 18, 2026; an earlier version of this brief scored Indiana 4). Under the July 2026 re-score, total enclosure by prohibition scores the same as total enclosure by capture: a commons Hoosiers cannot lawfully enter is a closed commons, whoever holds the gate. The absence of an entrenched corporate incumbent does not open it, and a governor's signal about a possible 2027 program is a prospect, not access.

What to watch next

November 12, 2026: federal hemp redefinition full-enforcement date; expect most intoxicating hemp THC products to be swept from Indiana retail (https://manzurilaw.com/federal-hemp-law-will-reshape-the-industry-in-2026/).
2027 legislative session: Sen. Bohacek's planned state-licensed medical marijuana bill; whether GOP leadership opposition (Bray) softens (https://mirrorindy.org/medical-marijuana-indiana-republicans-show-openness-to-limited-legalization-as-bohacek-prepares-bill/).
Ongoing: state agency meetings with medical-marijuana advocates directed by Governor Braun, and how Indiana responds to federal Schedule III rescheduling (https://www.marijuanamoment.net/indiana-gop-governor-directs-state-agencies-to-meet-with-medical-marijuana-advocates-as-federal-rescheduling-takes-effect/).
The Indiana General Assembly next convenes for its 2027 long session (start date in January 2027; exact date unconfirmed). The 2026 short session adjourned February 27, 2026 (https://indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/02/27/last-day-of-the-2026-legislative-session/).
Implementation of the new SSP restrictions (residency, ID, one-to-one, buffer zones) and whether programs survive locally (https://healthtechquitylab.org/2025/11/21/syringe-exchange-programs-work-indiana-cannot-afford-to-lose-them/).

Regulators

There is no dedicated state cannabis regulator because there is no legal cannabis market. Any future program would require a new licensing agency (structure unconfirmed; Bohacek's draft reportedly addresses patient eligibility, physician oversight, distribution, and taxation).
Hemp: The Indiana State Department of Agriculture and the Office of Indiana State Chemist have historically overseen hemp cultivation and product oversight; intoxicating hemp products have lacked a clear dedicated regulator, a gap the failed 2025-2026 bills tried to fill (regulator specifics unconfirmed).
Harm reduction and overdose: the Indiana Department of Health oversees syringe services program approval and naloxone access, alongside local health departments (https://www.lpm.org/news/2026-02-19/indiana-house-supports-an-extension-of-the-syringe-service-programs-with-new-requirements).
Attorney General Todd Rokita has been an active voice on hemp/THC enforcement and policy (https://www.cannabisregulations.ai/cannabis-and-hemp-regulations-compliance-ai-blog/indiana-2025-delta-8-rules-ag-pushback).

Federal exposure (2026)

Indiana is a full-prohibition state with no legal cannabis market, so most of the 2026 federal cannabis machinery passes it by, while the one channel Indiana left open, intoxicating hemp, is precisely the one the federal government is about to close. The exposure is asymmetric: federal relief does nothing for Indiana, but federal restriction lands hard.

Rescheduling and 280E. By default cannabis remains Schedule I federally. The DOJ/DEA order signed April 22, 2026 and effective April 28, 2026 (91 FR 22714) moved only FDA-approved cannabis drugs and state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III, leaving recreational cannabis on Schedule I, and ended the Section 280E tax penalty only for that medical category. Indiana has no state-licensed medical or adult-use cannabis businesses, so there is nothing in the state for the carve-out to attach to. The end of 280E is a tax benefit available only to operators inside a legal state-licensed market, and Indiana has none, so 280E relief is moot here. The federal carve-out does not legalize anything in Indiana, does not create a market, does not authorize interstate commerce into or out of Indiana, and confers no benefit on Hoosier patients or businesses, because there are no licensed businesses. The broader DEA rescheduling hearing that opened June 29, 2026 (and may slip to 2027) likewise changes nothing on the ground in a prohibition state; even a future move to Schedule III would not by itself legalize cannabis in Indiana or compel the legislature to act. The practical effect of the entire federal rescheduling track for Indiana is symbolic, it gave Governor Braun a reason to direct agencies to meet with advocates and gave Sen. Bohacek a talking point for a 2027 medical bill, but it does not enclose, open, or alter any Indiana market because none exists.

The November 12, 2026 hemp cliff. This is Indiana's single largest federal exposure. The FY2026 agriculture appropriations law (Sec. 781, sponsored by Rep. Andy Harris, R-MD) narrowed the federal definition of hemp to a total-THC standard of roughly 0.4 mg THC per container, which recriminalizes an estimated 90 to 95 percent of intoxicating hemp products as of November 12, 2026. The proposed delay bill (reported as H.R.7010, unconfirmed status, https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7010) was not enacted, and the 2026 Farm Bill (reported as H.R.7567, unconfirmed, https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7567) keeps the ban, so there is no federal off-ramp. Indiana is highly exposed because it never built a state regulatory regime: SB 478 (2025) regulation failed, SB 250 (2026) delta-8 ban failed, and the moved language in SB 144 failed, leaving an unregulated intoxicating-hemp retail market running through smoke shops, gas stations, vape shops, and online sellers. Practical effect: on November 12, 2026, the federal total-THC standard does what three failed state bills could not, sweeping most delta-8, delta-10, THCA, and synthesized-THC products off Indiana shelves by operation of federal law, with no state license regime to manage the transition, no grandfathering, and no state-built legal alternative to absorb displaced demand or displaced retailers. Because Indiana has no state THC statute layered on top, federal law becomes the de facto state rule overnight; enforcement mechanics and how aggressively Indiana retailers, the Office of Indiana State Chemist, and the Attorney General police the new line are unconfirmed and the key thing to watch (https://www.regulatoryoversight.com/2025/12/congress-narrows-federal-definition-of-hemp-effectively-banning-most-intoxicating-hemp-products/, https://manzurilaw.com/federal-hemp-law-will-reshape-the-industry-in-2026/).

Banking. The SAFER Banking Act remains stalled in Congress. This is not applicable to Indiana in any operational sense: cannabis banking reform matters only where there are licensed cannabis businesses needing depository and payment services, and Indiana has no legal cannabis market and therefore no cannabis businesses to bank. Should a narrow medical program emerge in 2027 or later, the continued absence of SAFER-type protections would then become a real barrier; for now it is moot.

Psychedelics. Psilocybin, MDMA, and ibogaine all remain Schedule I federally. The April 18, 2026 executive order, Accelerating Medical Treatments for Serious Mental Illness [https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/04/accelerating-medical-treatments-for-serious-mental-illness/] plus FDA priority vouchers fast-track FDA review but produce no approval yet, and conditional rescheduling triggers only on an actual FDA approval. Indiana's posture is research-only, a state-funded therapeutic psilocybin research program (enacted 2024, veterans and first responders prioritized) that operates within the federal research framework and depends on FDA and DEA research authorizations. Because Indiana has not decriminalized or created any therapeutic non-research access, the only realistic route to legal psychedelic therapy for Hoosiers runs through the federal FDA approval pathway, not state law; if and when the FDA approves a psilocybin or MDMA medicine and it is rescheduled, that federal action, not an Indiana statute, would open access. Until then Indiana's research program is the entire legal footprint and it remains federally constrained.

Harm reduction. Indiana decriminalized fentanyl test strips (removed from the paraphernalia definition, effective July 1, 2025) and authorizes locally approved syringe services programs, though the 2026 extension added residency, ID, one-to-one exchange, and buffer-zone restrictions that narrow access. These state and local programs are exposed to the SAMHSA guidance of April 24, 2026, which bars federal funds from paying for fentanyl test strips, sterile syringes, and sterile water (naloxone remains federally supported). Practical effect: even though Indiana made fentanyl test strips legal to possess and lets localities run syringe programs, federal dollars can no longer buy the test strips, the clean syringes, or the sterile water those programs distribute, so the legal status exists but the federal funding stream behind the supplies is cut. Indiana SSPs that relied on federal pass-through funding for consumables must now find state or local or private money for everything except naloxone, which compounds the squeeze already created by the new state restrictions and raises the risk that marginal local programs close (https://healthtechquitylab.org/2025/11/21/syringe-exchange-programs-work-indiana-cannot-afford-to-lose-them/).

Patient access and rights

This section covers what Indiana law does and does not protect for a medical cannabis patient: use inside a hospital, and the broader rights that follow a patient into work, housing, parenting, an organ transplant list, and school. It is information, not legal advice, and it reflects the law as of July 2026. Each point links to the primary statute.

Indiana has no comprehensive medical cannabis program. It allows only low-THC hemp extract, a form of CBD, under Indiana Code Section 35-48-1-17.5. There is no medical dispensary system and no registry that carries the protections other states' programs provide.

Hospital access (Ryan's Law): Indiana has no hospital-access law. No statute requires a hospital or similar facility to let a patient use medical cannabis on site, so the decision is left to each facility's own policy. Seven states have now enacted a Ryan's Law protection (California in 2021, and Colorado, Delaware, Louisiana, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington in 2026), with Pennsylvania's bill pending; Indiana is not among them.

Broader protections: here the absence is the finding. A review of Indiana law found no statutory protection for a medical cannabis patient in any of the areas other states cover: not employment, not housing, not a custody or visitation dispute, not placement on an organ transplant list, and not school enrollment, and there is no general medical-care protection. In these situations the patient has no enforceable shield; the protection does not exist in state law today.

Out-of-state patients: Indiana has no medical program and does not recognize other states' medical cannabis cards.

The federal picture: the April 2026 federal move of state-licensed medical cannabis to Schedule III did not change any of this. Schedule III does not make dispensary cannabis a lawful prescription medicine, and it creates no hospital-use right and no employment, housing, custody, transplant, or school protection; only state law can create those, and Indiana has not.

Bills to create a broader medical program have been filed in recent sessions but none has advanced.

Sources: Indiana's low-THC hemp extract law, Indiana Code Section 35-48-1-17.5.

Analysis: the enclosure read in depth

Who is fenced out, and by what. In Indiana the fence is prohibition itself, not corporate consolidation. Hoosiers are fenced out of any legal cannabis at all: no adult-use market, no comprehensive medical program, no home grow, and live criminal exposure for simple possession. People with prior convictions are fenced out of relief by a one-time, slow general expungement statute with no cannabis-specific carve-out. The public is fenced out of any voter-driven correction because Indiana has no citizen initiative or referendum process, so every path to reform must pass through a Republican supermajority legislature whose Senate leader, President Pro Tem Rodric Bray, is an open opponent. The countervailing signal is modest: Governor Braun has signaled openness, calling himself agnostic and saying the state will probably have to address it, and Sen. Mike Bohacek has announced a state-licensed medical bill drafted for the 2027 session (not yet filed), but neither has changed current law. There is no ballot initiative anywhere in the pipeline.

The state-plus-federal interaction. The defining feature of Indiana in 2026 is that the federal hemp ban hits the one lane the state left open. Indiana's prohibition is so complete that the federal cannabis-relief track (Schedule III for medical, end of 280E, eventual broader rescheduling, SAFER banking) has no surface to act on, it cannot help because there is nothing legal to help. But the federal restriction track does have a surface: the unregulated intoxicating-hemp market that grew up in the gap left by three failed state bills. On November 12, 2026 the federal total-THC standard closes that market by operation of law, accomplishing the ban that SB 250 could not pass, and it does so without any state regulatory scaffolding to soften the landing. So the state and federal layers compound in one direction only: state prohibition blocks every legal market, and federal action removes the sole quasi-legal channel, while federal relief is structurally unavailable to a state with nothing to relieve. The harm-reduction layer shows the same compounding, state law permits test strips and local syringe programs, but the April 2026 SAMHSA funding bar strips federal money from the supplies, so a permissive state rule sits on top of a defunded federal base.

What to watch. First, the November 12, 2026 cliff and how Indiana enforces it, since the state has no THC statute of its own and will be running on federal definitions. Second, the 2027 long session and whether Bohacek's announced medical bill is actually filed, whether GOP leadership opposition softens, and whether any program would arrive license-capped and physician-gated in a way that favors a few well-capitalized operators. Third, whether the federal rescheduling track (the June 29, 2026 hearing, possibly slipping to 2027) gives state reformers added political cover. Fourth, the survival of local syringe programs under the combined weight of new state restrictions and the SAMHSA funding cut. Fifth, any movement, however unlikely, on a constitutional amendment to create a citizen initiative, the absence of which keeps reform locked inside the legislature.

The absence of commons counter-moves. Notably, Indiana shows almost no commons-building activity, no home-grow carve-out, no microbusiness or social-equity licensing concept (there is no market to attach it to), no decriminalization that passed, no expungement reform, and no citizen-initiative route by which residents could build one. The hemp market was the closest thing to an organically grown, low-barrier, small-operator commons, and it is being enclosed by federal action with no state replacement. Even the harm-reduction commons is contracting under new ID and residency rules plus the federal funding cut.

Justifying the score. The enclosure score is 5/5, corrected July 18, 2026; an earlier version of this brief held it at 4. State dynamics alone justify the top of the scale: near-total prohibition, no home grow, no ballot initiative, a one-time expungement bottleneck, and a supermajority legislature with a hostile Senate leader. The federal dynamics push the same direction: the November 12, 2026 hemp cliff closes the one lane that grew organically and the SAMHSA cut defunds harm-reduction supplies, while the federal relief track (Schedule III, 280E, SAFER) is entirely inert here because there is no legal market to benefit. The earlier 4 rested on two reservations: no entrenched corporate incumbent yet, and a governor-signaled prospect of a 2027 medical program. The July 2026 re-score corrected the first reservation directly, because enclosure by prohibition and enclosure by capture both close the commons, and a state where no one can lawfully enter the market is fully fenced regardless of who profits from the fence. The second reservation remains what it was, a prospect rather than access, and a prospect does not lower a score that measures what the community can reach today. If a 2027 program actually opens access, the score will move with the facts.

Active legislation (2026)

This list covers significant bills; it is not exhaustive. For the full set and live status, use LegiScan (https://legiscan.com/IN) and the Indiana General Assembly site (https://iga.in.gov/legislative/2026). The 2026 short session adjourned sine die on February 27, 2026, so these bills are best read as recent rather than currently pending.

Beyond the live tracker

These measures are not in the live bill list below: some are not bills (executive orders, rules, referendums, or budgets), and some are proposals or prior-session measures the live tracker does not currently carry.

SB 144 Reported as vehicle for moved hemp THC language (Did not become law)
HJR 1 (prior session) Constitutional amendment to allow citizen initiative/referendum (Did not advance)
(2027, announced) State-licensed medical marijuana program (Drafting; not yet filed)

Bill	Title/Topic	Chamber	Status	Sponsor(s)
HB 1191	Decriminalization of marijuana (2 oz or less)	House	Referred to Courts and Criminal Code; no hearing; died	Rep. Mitch Gore (D)
HB 1298	Reclassify cannabis under state law (track federal rescheduling)	House	Referred to Courts and Criminal Code; died	Rep. Jim Lucas (R)
SB 250	Ban delta-8 / intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids	Senate	Cleared early committee; died (missed third-reading deadline)	Sen. Aaron Freeman (R)
SB 144	Reported as vehicle for moved hemp THC language	Senate	Did not become law	Sponsor unconfirmed
HJR 1 (prior session)	Constitutional amendment to allow citizen initiative/referendum	House	Did not advance	Rep. Sue Errington (D)
HB 1166 (2025)	Appropriation for psilocybin research (~$600,000)	House	2025 session; advanced	Reps. Justin Moed (D) and Jake Teshka (R) (unconfirmed exact co-sponsorship)
(2027, announced)	State-licensed medical marijuana program	Senate (planned)	Drafting; not yet filed	Sen. Mike Bohacek (R)

Note: SB 478 (2025) was the prior-session hemp regulatory bill; SB 144's sponsor is unconfirmed.

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A planning snapshot for 2026, not legal advice. Policy moves quickly; confirm any single detail against the cited sources before acting on it. Sponsor names are given where confirmable and marked unconfirmed otherwise.

About the author. Jessica Mantonya is the founder of Drug Policy Watch and Hold in Common. She also advises operators, advocates, and funders on regulatory strategy and anti-enclosure positioning. Work with her →