Indiana lawmakers won't consider marijuana legalization
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If you had high hopes Indiana's budget crisis would cause lawmakers to take another look at marijuana legalization, don't hold your breath.
Catch up quick: Lawmakers learned last week they need to cut a staggering $2 billion from their two-year spending plan — or find a way to close the gap with additional revenue.
- As it stands, lawmakers have just $170 million in new dollars to spend in 2026 and $30 million in 2027.
- That's not much, considering the state spends around $22 billion annually and its Medicaid expenses are projected to grow by more than $400 million in the first year and another $375 million in the second.
Between the lines: Statehouse leaders have said "everything is on the table" when it comes to writing a balanced budget, and that includes cuts and, possibly, new taxes.
Yes, but: Not everything.
What they're saying: "We're not going to legalize marijuana in the budget," House Speaker Todd Huston (R-Fishers) told reporters Thursday.
- Huston said legislators wouldn't consider fast-tracking significant public policy changes in the final week of the legislative session simply to close a budget gap.
Plus: The taxes generated from legalization wouldn't solve Indiana's financial problems.
- A fiscal analysis from the state's Legislative Services Agency estimated that recreational marijuana would generate between $100 million and $200 million annually once a cannabis program was fully implemented (which would take some time).
What's more likely: Raising the cigarette tax by $1 would bring in an estimated $200 million annually and is a policy that's already been vetted by the legislative process multiple times.