A Republican state lawmaker says medical marijuana legalization is a realistic goal for the 2019 session.
Advocates like those who spoke at cannabis advocates forum at the State Library Saturday – people with medical issues, veterans, and lawmakers – helped secure authorized cannabidiol and a House resolution to study medical cannabis in the 2018 legislative session. Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour) says medical marijuana legalization is next.
“We can steal ideas from the other 30 states that already have this program. We’re not starting from scratch and reinventing the wheel,” Lucas says.
No one’s worked longer on marijuana reform in the legislature than Sen. Karen Tallian (D-Portage). She says GOP leadership has always been the obstacle.
“They’ve gotta know, as long as they stall, they can’t stop it," Tallian says. "It’s coming.”
Tallian says she hopes to see inroads on the agricultural side – with industrial hemp – in 2019.