Hoosiers are being arrested, fined, and given criminal records for small amounts of marijuana—even as nearly every state around us has moved on.

Indiana lawmakers keep saying their hands are tied. They say they’re waiting on the federal government, worried about public safety, or concerned about “sending the wrong message.” But while they delay, real people are paying the price. Veterans coping with pain or PTSD, patients looking for alternatives to opioids, and everyday Hoosiers are still treated like criminals for possession that would be legal just across the state line.

Right now, Rep. Mitch Gore has introduced legislation that would remove criminal penalties for possessing or growing small amounts of marijuana. This bill doesn’t create dispensaries or a commercial market. It simply stops punishing people with jail time, massive fines, or lifelong records for low-level possession. Yet it’s once again stuck in the Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee—the same place reform has gone to die before.

At the same time, lawmakers are spending their energy banning billboards, tightening advertising rules, and cracking down on hemp products, all while refusing to address the real issue: Indiana is criminalizing behavior that most Americans no longer believe should be a crime.

Even Gov. Mike Braun has acknowledged it may be time to move forward on cannabis policy. President Trump’s executive action on rescheduling marijuana has further undercut the argument that Indiana must do nothing. The truth is simple: continuing to arrest Hoosiers for small amounts of marijuana doesn’t make us safer. It wastes law enforcement resources, hurts families, and leaves Indiana isolated.

We are calling on the Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Committee to hear and advance Rep. Gore’s bill, and on Gov. Mike Braun to publicly support ending criminal penalties for low-level marijuana possession.

Indiana doesn’t need to be last. We can take a responsible, bipartisan step forward—starting now—by stopping the criminalization of Hoosiers for small amounts of marijuana.