The sale of cannabis oil would be not just legalized but expanded if the House gets its way.
Last year, the House and Senate agreed to legalize CBD oil for epilepsy patients, but neglected to legalize its sale. A Senate committee votes Tuesday on a set of rules for selling the oil while carding purchasers. Parents of children with epilepsy who lobbied for years for CBD oil as a treatment for seizures have criticized that bill, arguing the regulations are so burdensome that stores wouldn’t be willing to deal with them.
The House approach would treat the oil as just another herbal supplement that anyone can buy. By rewriting Indiana’s definition of legal industrial hemp, Seymour Republican Jim Lucas’s bill would not only remove barriers to selling the oil, but eliminate the need for the epilepsy registry of authorized purchasers.
Lucas has also authored a medical marijuana bill, but notes that’s a separate issue — CBD oil can’t get you high. He says following federal definitions of hemp is a simpler and better approach than trying to regulate who buys the oil.
A House committee could vote on the CBD oil bill next week.
