Hemp-Related Bill Passes Indiana Senate

Senate Bill 250 would ban anyone younger than 21 from buying hemp-based THC products and would change the state’s definition of hemp to match the federal definition.

Federal Gov't Shutdown Deal Provision Affectively Bans Hemp THC Products — Source: Brandon Bell / Getty

INDIANAPOLIS — A bill to ban hemp-based THC products for people under 21 and alter the state’s definition of hemp to match the federal definition recently passed the Indiana Senate.

Senate Bill 250, authored by Indiana State Senators Cyndi Carrasco, Blake Doriot, and Aaron Freeman, passed its third reading with a vote of 35-13.

SB 250 would ban anyone under 21 years old from purchasing hemp-based THC products, except CBD products that do not contain THC. Sellers of tobacco products and products containing THC would be required to check the ID of a person before they buy anything in their store.

The bill would also ban products with high amounts of THC in Indiana.

“Under the farm bill loophole, Delta-8 and THC products have become too easy for young Hoosiers to obtain,” Sen. Freeman said in a news release. “Senate Bill 250 is about protecting those under 21 by preventing them from obtaining products containing THC.”

Another inclusion in the bill is that if the federal government were to reclassify marijuana, the Indiana General Assembly would get a chance to vote on whether to follow that change.

The bill now goes to the Indiana House of Representatives.