CBD Bill Advances To Senate Floor

Lawmakers voted in favor of a bill to legalize the hemp extract CBD oil for all Hoosiers. Recent amendments ease a number of restrictions on the substance. The original bill would have only legalized CBD oil with no THC, but a change now places that level at 0.3 percent, the federal industry standard.

It would also allow the sale of CBD oil by any retailer – eliminating a registry set up last year, when the oil was only legalized for use by some epilepsy patients.

Sen. Michael Young (R-Indianapolis) says his research, with testimony from doctors and scientists, has convinced him the substance is not harmful.

“The evidence shows that you can’t overdose on it but it has a great deal of benefits, scientific benefits to resolve a lot of people’s problems,” says Young.

In testimony this session, doctors say CBD oil helped some of their patients stop using opioids.

Young says there would also be protections and product control.

“For people that may be tested, and the product will have to be labeled as to what’s in the product so that the consumer knows what’s in it,” Young says.

The bill now heads to the Senate floor.