Pubdate: Mon, 25 Feb 2013
Source: Herald Bulletin, The (Anderson, IN)
Copyright: 2013 The Herald Bulletin
Contact:  http://www.theheraldbulletin.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3877
Author: Maureen Hayden, CNHI

POT DEBATE INCLUDED IN CRIMINAL CODE OVERHAUL

INDIANAPOLIS - In the flurry of activity at the Statehouse in recent 
weeks, I missed reporting some sad news for stoners: The legislation 
to decriminalize marijuana is dead.

State Sen. Karen Tallian's bill to make possession of 2 ounces of 
marijuana into an infraction, like a speeding ticket, died when it 
didn't get a hearing in the Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law 
before a critical deadline passed.

Tallian's response was anything but mellow. The Democratic 
grandmother from Ogden Dunes told The Times of Northwest Indiana 
reporter Dan Carden: "I don't understand why they refused to even 
hear it. We have certainly heard some really idiotic bills in that committee."

Setting aside the question of idiocy in the General Assembly, here's 
news that may hearten those who've been following the pot debate: 
Legislation that would roll back Indiana's marijuana laws - some of 
the toughest in the nation - is still very much alive.

Tucked inside a 400-plus page bill to overhaul Indiana's criminal 
code is language that would turn most felony-level marijuana crimes 
into mere misdemeanors. It puts an end to the reefer madness of a 
past General Assembly that made possession of marijuana a felony if 
you'd been caught once before or had more than 1 ounce.

So it would still be a crime to get caught with cannabis, but no 
longer a crime that could land you in prison or make you 
automatically lose your driver's license.

The four co-authors of the criminal code reform bill make for an 
interesting alliance. The two conservative Republican authors are 
Hendricks County lawyer Greg Steuerwald and former deputy prosecutor 
Jud McMillin of Brookville. The two liberal Democratic authors are 
Bloomington lawyer Matt Pierce and retired Hammond police officer Linda Lawson.

They all had a role to play in crafting a bill that's been several 
years in the making and has won strong bipartisan support. The full 
House is expected to vote on the bill today, then send it to the 
Senate where the legislation has strong allies.

At a media availability last week to talk about the bill, none of the 
co-authors said the word "marijuana," though I think they should have 
if they wanted to get good media coverage.

As Time magazine reported last week, "pot is having a political 
moment" as the push to lessen penalties for marijuana has moved from 
the margins to mainstream.

Tallian's bill was a pipe dream - no way is this current General 
Assembly ready to join the 14 states that have decriminalized 
possession (or the handful of other states that have started down that path.)

But it wasn't without some hope: Late last year, the Senate Judiciary 
Committee Chairman Brent Steele - a rock-ribbed, lawand-order guy if 
there ever was one - came out in support of Tallian's proposal. He 
likened Indiana's marijuana laws to "smashing an ant with a sledgehammer."

Steele backed off after he decided the idea wasn't politically 
palatable to his conservative colleagues - at least not yet.

Remember that committee chairman who wouldn't give Tallian's bill a 
hearing? He's promised Tallian that he'll research the issue before 
next year's session. Maybe that's a sign that decriminalization isn't 
dead, just dormant.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom