CBD oil is now legal in Indiana after nearly a year of confusion

Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a measure legalizing low-THC cannabidiol oil in Indiana Wednesday, after nearly a year of confusion over Indiana's laws.

Senate Enrolled Act 52 allows any person to buy, sell and possess CBD oil, as long as it meets certain labeling requirements and contains no more than 0.3 percent THC, the substance that produces a "high."

Some lawmakers, however, worried the bill's requirements were too stringent and would accidentally cut manufacturers out of the industry and cause prices to jump.

The bill is also silent on the legality of manufacturing the product in Indiana, which could lead to more legal debates in the future.

Holcomb, however, had no qualms about the act.

“Indiana lawmakers delivered a bill that ensures Hoosiers who benefit from CBD oil can access it," Holcomb said in a statement. "The bill provides much needed clarity, with labeling requirements and a 0.3% THC limit on CBD products."

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The final version of Senate Bill 52 requires manufacturers to have each batch of product tested in order to ensure it has less than 0.3 percent THC.

The measure also requires any products sold in Indiana to have a QR code on the label linking to a document containing information on the batch, such as the ingredients and the name of the company that manufactured the ingredients.

That would require most CBD oil manufacturers to create new labels just to sell products in Indiana.

Nathan Renschler, the owner of a CBD oil manufacturing company, said his products manufactured in Fort Wayne would likely come close to meeting the requirements laid out in Senate Bill 52. However, his other two brands manufactured elsewhere would have to have their labels altered.

“To have all these companies including mine have special labels for Indiana, and the rest of the country we have a different label, is pretty silly,” Renschler said. “They don’t have any state regulations on any other vitamin or supplement, but this one gets special regulations and it’s not for any good reason.”

Lawmakers sought to clarify Indiana's CBD laws after a 2017 act legalized CBD oil for epileptic patients on a registry, but provided no way for those patients to purchase it.

State Excise Police used the act as justification to confiscate CBD oil products from nearly 60 stores over the summer months. In November, Attorney General Curtis Hill issued a legal opinion declaring CBD oil illegal in Indiana.

Rep. Matt Pierce, D-Bloomington, said they likely will have to fix the legislation yet again next year.

"We’re going to have to come back and fix this next year," Pierce said, "but we’ve got to at least get it legal."

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Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin Lange at (317) 432-9270. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.