Indiana Marijuana | Medical Marijuana Indiana Indiana Marijuana Info
During the Medical Marijuana for Indiana forum, senators Jon Ford and Karen Tallian answered roughly two dozen questions. The audience consisted of just over 30 people and took place at Indiana State University’s Federal Hall. The form was moderated by Max Jones, editor of Tribune-Star.
The forum was a portion of the Economics of Crime class, reports Tribune-Star. Opening statements were given by both senators prior to the question and answer portion of the forum.
Karen Tallian was first to give her opening statement. She is a former attorney and favors the decriminalization of marijuana. Her time in courtrooms watching people plead guilty to simple marijuana possession charges is part of where here stance on the issue comes from.
She said, “I thought, ‘What a colossal waste of time.’ That’s what first sort of moved me into being the very first person in the Indiana Statehouse to mention the word ‘marijuana’ out loud because no one would ever take on that battle.”
She also said, “’Decriminalize’ is not making it legal and it’s not Colorado. ‘Decriminalize’ just means that for possession of some amount of marijuana, you don’t get jail time. It’s like a parking ticket or a traffic ticket… and most importantly, it means there’s no criminal record.”
Tallian continued by saying, “I think there are a lot of legislators who are still afraid of the issue. I’m trying to figure out what it is that I have to do to get legislators to hear this bill.”
Senator Ford, on the other hand, doesn’t have as much faith in Senator Tallian. He doesn’t believe that decriminalization will happen for another decade in Indiana, mainly due to the lack of research.
Ford said, “I think a lot of my colleagues are uncomfortable with supporting a bill without much substantial medical research.”
After the forum, Ford said, “I think it was great to have this discussion here at Indiana State University and to speak with the kids and hear what their questions are on a subject that’s growing in importance in our community.”
