Here's how much Hoosiers spend on cannabis each year
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Indiana residents are spending an estimated $1.8 billion on cannabis each year despite living with some of the nation's strictest marijuana policies, according to research released Wednesday.
The big picture: The report puts hard numbers behind a growing reality: The legal weed market is making big green from Hoosiers — just not in Indiana.
State of play: The Indianapolis-based Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation commissioned RAND to produce what it calls the first comprehensive look at cannabis use, spending and enforcement in Indiana.
- The Trump administration has taken steps toward reclassifying marijuana as a less restrictive drug.
- President Trump also took to Truth Social last week, calling on Congress to "update the Law to ensure that Americans can continue to access" CBD and hemp-derived products at risk of being pulled from Indiana shelves in November.
Zoom in: RAND was asked to produce two companion reports: one that maps Indiana's current cannabis landscape and another that examines future policy options.
Yes, but: The nonpartisan reports do not advocate for a direction. They lay out the tradeoffs.
- "This is a really nuanced topic, and it is pretty difficult to find good information in particular about what's happening right now in Indiana," Emilyn Whitesell of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation told Axios.
- "It is not this black or white, 'everything must be illegal,' or 'we must move to an adult-use system with cannabis dispensaries that are for profit' situation," she said. "There are a lot of policy choices in between that states have pursued ... some are better for meeting certain goals than others."
By the numbers: The report estimates legal recreational sales in Indiana generate $180 million in tax revenue annually, or roughly 1% of Indiana's General Fund.
- Most of the $1.8 billion Hoosiers spend each year comes from daily and near-daily users, and the majority of it leaves the state.
- 96% of Indiana residents, or 6.5 million people, live within a 100-mile drive of a dispensary in a neighboring state. 44% of residents live within a 50-mile drive.
- Approximately 1.3 million residents 12 and up have used cannabis in the past year, with roughly one-third of respondents reporting daily or near-daily use.
- Use is driven primarily by adults 26 and older, while use among residents under 18 has declined over the past decade.
- Cannabis-involved poison center calls have increased alongside use, particularly among young children. A decade ago, Hoosiers 5 and under accounted for 4% of cannabis-related poison center calls, compared with nearly 40% today.
Between the lines: Indiana spends about $10 million to $20 million each year enforcing its cannabis laws, per the report.
- Meanwhile, the cost to the state of regulating a legal market is estimated at low tens of millions of dollars annually, after start-up costs that may range from $10 million to $100 million.
What's next: The analysis presents several paths our policies could take and the considerations that should be made before moving forward.
- They include maintaining the status quo of illegality, reducing criminal penalties for possession, creating a regulated adult-use market and legalizing medical cannabis.
The bottom line: Whitesell believes the conversation about cannabis use in Indiana is only going to get louder amid the backdrop of nationwide reconsiderations.
- "We're hoping that by providing this information, people will be more informed when they're having them," she said.
Go deeper: Read the full report here.