The start of the New Year meant the legalization of the sale of marijuana for recreational use in Illinois.
Illinois is the 11th state to broadly allow marijuana's use and sale for people 21 or older, and Michigan made it legal starting Dec. 1.
But lawmakers in Indiana don’t anticipate following suit until more action is taken on a federal level.
State Representative Matt Pierce says the issue will likely be brought up during the 2020 legislative session.
“I think a lot of my republican colleagues see it as pretty controversial and they’d rather not deal with it, and I think the governor kind of helped them out by saying, ‘well gee, as long as the federal government says it’s a Schedule 1 drug, we can’t do anything or shouldn’t do anything,'" Pierce says.
Indiana Senate Democrats say they’ll push during this year’s legislative session to decriminalize small amounts of marijuana possession, while not legalizing the drug.
The Indiana General Assembly convenes Monday for the start of the legislative session.
