State Representative Jim Lucas (R) filed legislation today that would reclassify marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol under state law, removing both from Schedule I and placing them into Schedule III of Indiana’s controlled substances framework.
House Bill 1298 received its first reading on January 6, when it was referred to the House Committee on Courts and Criminal Code. If enacted, the changes would take effect July 1, 2026.
Under current Indiana law, marijuana and THC are classified as Schedule I substances, a category reserved for drugs deemed to have a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use. The bill would instead place both into Schedule III, aligning them with substances recognized as having accepted medical use but still subject to regulation.
Beyond reclassification, the measure makes several conforming changes throughout Indiana statute to reflect the new scheduling status. This includes updates to criminal provisions governing possession, dealing and sentencing thresholds, as well as technical revisions to ensure marijuana and THC are treated consistently with other Schedule III substances.
The bill also amends Indiana’s operating-while-intoxicated statute. While the law would continue to prohibit driving with Schedule I or II substances in the bloodstream, the proposal explicitly creates a defense for drivers who test positive for marijuana metabolites but are not intoxicated, did not cause a traffic accident and were identified through a chemical test. The legislation preserves existing penalties for impaired driving while narrowing automatic criminal exposure tied solely to the presence of THC.
Indiana remains one of the few states without a comprehensive medical marijuana program, though lawmakers have repeatedly debated limited reforms in recent years. The bill’s filing comes a day after the filing of bills that would decriminalize cannabis and create a regulatory system for “craft hemp”.
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