[caption id="attachment_7230" align="alignright" width="240"] Sen. Karen Tallian[/caption] State Senator Karen Tallian has long been a champion for improving marijuana-related laws in Indiana, and she has already introduced a new, compassionate bill that would establish a medical marijuana program in Indiana. If passed, SB 284 would allow patients to use and safely access medical cannabis, as is the case in 23 states and the District of Columbia. Medical marijuana can effectively alleviate a wide…

[caption id="attachment_7230" align="alignright" width="168"] Sen. Karen Tallian[/caption] Indiana state Senator Karen Tallian has taken an important step towards improving marijuana laws in Indiana by introducing SB 314. This bill would reduce the penalty for possessing a small amount of marijuana to a civil fine. Currently, a person who possesses up to 30 grams of marijuana in Indiana faces up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $5,000. Indiana’s penalties are some of the harshest in the country.…

Marijuana reform is a hot topic of conversation in state legislatures around the country and not just in traditionally liberal states like California and Rhode Island. In fact, bills to make marijuana possession punishable by a fine only, rather than jail time, were introduced this year in conservative bastions like Arizona and Tennessee, and it’s a too-well-kept secret that such laws have been on the books since the '70s in Mississippi, Nebraska, Ohio, and several other less-than-liberal states. You…