Mary Jane, cannabis, weed, pot— or whatever colloquialism you’d like to refer to the highly sought after, intoxicating plant known as marijuana— has caused a great deal of conversation among the nation’s law makers.
At Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper press time, Alaska had become the third state to pass legislation in favor of legalizing recreational use of marijuana, following Colorado and Washington. While approval appears to be trending for this psychoactive drug, the proposal to legalize it wasn’t favored by everyone, even in states where it is now legal.
“Expect more crime, more kids using marijuana and pot for sale everywhere,” Douglas County Sheriff David Weaver of Colorado predicted in 2012. “I think our entire state will pay the price.”
However, those fears appear not to be reality. According to statistics released by the city of Denver, the overall crime rate is down by one percent from the beginning of 2013 to the end of 2014.
It has also been reported that the state has sold more than $699,198,805 of recreational and medical marijuana in 2014. Events such as the Cannabis Cup, a two-day expo that features seminars and activism sessions, which was attended by leaders of the marijuana movement, and celebrities, brought crowds to the city of Denver and generated revenue.
Where does Indiana fit?
Given all of the economic benefits and other states passing similar laws, is legalizing marijuana now on the radar for Indiana officials?
When the Indiana Office of Tourism Development was asked this question, they declined to comment.
In 2014, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed Senate Bill 357, also known as the Industrial Hemp bill, which made Indiana the 11th state to legalize industrial hemp. Hemp is the fiber of the cannabis plant, extracted from the stem and used to make rope, stout fabrics, fiberboard, and paper. According to Indiana NORML, more than 50 thousand products can be produced from hemp, including fiber, fuel, paper, plastic and building materials.
The legislative step of permitting hemp into the Hoosier State raised the question “What about marijuana?”
Sen. Karen Tallian, D-Ind., said while she has never filed a bill to legalize recreational use of marijuana, she has worked for the past three years to decriminalize it.
“This year when I couldn’t get anywhere with the decriminalization bill, I filled a bill that would just allow for medical marijuana,” said Tallian. “I couldn’t even get a hearing on the bills that I had because there are people here that don’t want to hear it and don’t want to vote on it. The governor doesn’t want it on his desk. There are very conservative people running the general assembly.”
Experts weigh in
“The economic impact is important, but there are societal and personal costs as well,” said Randy Miller, executive director of Drug Free Marion County.
“For example, the amount of crime that has been generated by those that have had too much to drink, and although we’ve had the numbers go down, there are still too many people injured and killed in drunk driving crashes. You’re going to have that same result with marijuana.”
He said if the state doesn’t pay for it in the criminal justice department, there might be some repercussions on the healthcare side.
“It’s a shuffling of the costs. You’re going to pay for it somewhere but the question is, where do you want to pay for it,” he asked.
Tallian said she believes legalization of marijuana will ultimately be the law of the land, but Indiana may be one of the last states to approve.
“Surveys show the general public is willing to treat marijuana like alcohol and tax and regulate it the same.”
She thinks Hoosier residents are ready for legalization but the government is not.
Rupert Boneham, who ran for governor of Indiana in 2012 on the Libertarian Party ticket, said if Indiana does allow the use of the drug, government leadership must look a lot different.
“Nothing against the governor, but when he made the statement, ‘If you’re going to break the law, you need to drive around our state,’ the legalization process was already denied,” said Boneham, who also won local fame as a contestant on the 2003 season of the TV series “Survivor.”
His mentor organization, Rupert’s Kids, serves at-risk youth. He said he sees numerous young people who have been placed into the detention center because of marijuana possession.
He also stressed the thought that taxpayers are paying to house those prosecuted and if the drug was legalized, the state could save a great amount of money and the number of those in the prison systems would decrease.
Boneham stated there is also another barrier to legalization: the pharmaceutical industry.
“You deal with drug companies that do not want such a natural drug come into the market. It would go up against the billion dollar lobbyists. They want to create their own marijuana products and compounds. They don’t want anyone to be able to grow their own medicine. It would take billions of dollars out of their pockets,” he added.
Regulation
Colorado residents aged 21 years and older can purchase up to an ounce of marijuana at a licensed store, while those outside of the state can purchase a quarter ounce.
A large retail tax of about 30 percent has been reportedly attached to recreational sales. However, residents can grow up to six plants in their homes for their personal use.
Carly Holbrook of the Colorado Office of Economic Development & International trade said there is currently no statistical information available on the impact upon state tourism.
“Amendment 64 specifically bans public consumption of marijuana and using marijuana in public remains illegal, as well as possession and/or consumption of marijuana on Federal property and land,” said Holbrook.
“The Colorado Tourism Office is not using the legalization of marijuana to promote the state, and we do not currently have any stats or figures for marijuana tourism.”
In relation to how the legalization has affected crime, The Colorado State Patrol Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) program, initiated in 2014, show in the first six months of 2014, 77 percent of the DUIDs involved marijuana, while 42 percent of the DUIDs involved marijuana only.
Outlook
“Until we realize that prohibition is gone, the alcohol legislation is a tell tale sign of what will happen with marijuana legislation,” commented Boneham. “We should let people decide what they want to do in their own home to their own self.”
Allen St. Pierre, executive director of NORML said undoubtedly other states will follow Colorado.
“The most important year for legalization of marijuana will be in 2016, when California, Massachusetts, Maine, Arizona and New Mexico— and potentially Ohio and Michigan— look to have initiatives to legalize marijuana,” he said.
Perhaps the Hoosier State is still on the fence about legalizing marijuana. But if it is approved by legislature in the future, what impact will it have on the economy, crime and the health care industry?
