OUR VIEW: Clear path needed on marijuana issue | – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

The grass is greener in many of our neighboring states, but Indiana continues to stall when it comes to making progress on the issue.

On Nov. 7, Ohio voters chose to make recreational marijuana use legal in the state. Ohio is the 24th state to pass the grass for recreational use, joining Hoosier neighbors Illinois and Michigan. Earlier this year, Kentucky legalized medical marijuana.

Indiana is an outlier, even in the Midwest, when it comes to cannabis. According to the Marijuana Policy Project, Indiana is one of just 12 states without a medical marijuana law and one of 19 that still imposes jail time for simple possession of cannabis.

Gov. Eric Holcomb has said he won’t act on the matter until the federal government legalizes pot. Our state legislature has failed to move the issue forward. Yet another legislative committee provided no recommendations on marijuana legalization during a meeting earlier this month. Unlike Ohio, Hoosier voters are limited in deciding on the issue since Indiana is one of 27 states where questions such as marijuana legalization can’t appear on the ballot without the will of the state legislature.

Given that our state lawmakers have largely failed to come up with even basic guidance on pot legalization or medical marijuana, it’s hard to imagine that Hoosiers will be seeing the issue on a ballot anytime soon.

But…