Hemp flower issue caught Baird’s attention

Beau Baird

An up-close and personal experience has fueled the interest of District 44 State Rep. Beau Baird (R-Greencastle) on a House bill that focuses on craft hemp flower and hemp production in Indiana.

House Bill 1043, which has been assigned to the Senate Commerce and Technology Committee, excludes craft hemp flower from the definition of “hemp product” and removes references to smokable hemp.

Hemp flower is being sold at convenience stores and gasoline stations across Indiana, including one at which Rep. Baird stopped.

“I led the charge on this the last time when I came home and found this on the self at the Shell station here in Greencastle,” he noted.

Baird said his immediate thought was: How does law enforcement know whether it’s hemp flower or marijuana.

“My concern wasn’t that it gets sold,” Baird told a crowd of 30 at the Legislative Update program Saturday morning at the Farm Bureau Office, “but when someone gets pulled over and it’s laying there in the console.”

He wondered if it’s OK as long as the package is kept enclosed until the buyer gets home.

“I think we need to have a robust discussion about this,” he said, asking audience member and Cloverdale Town Marshal Steve Hibler how his department deals with the issue.

“It’s a challenge for us,” Hibler assured, noting that hemp flower tests positive as marijuana in many cases.

“We do a lot of cite-and-release in those cases,” the marshal added.

As House Bill 1043 -- currently in the Senate as bills switch houses at the midway point of the legislative session -- it currently removes an exemption to a person who knowingly or intentionally grows or handles smokable hemp without a license from the penalty of growing or handling hemp without a license.

It also repeals a law that requires that a hemp bud or a hemp flower be sold only to a processor licensed in Indiana and creates contaminant testing and packaging requirements for the distribution and sale of craft hemp flower.

The bill also establishes penalties for selling or distributing craft hemp flower in violation of the requirements and makes it a Class C infraction if a person knowingly: (1) sells or distributes craft hemp flower to a person younger than 21 years of age; and (2) purchases craft hemp flower for delivery to another person who is younger than 21 years of age and provides that a retail establishment that sells or distributes craft hemp flower to a person younger than 21 years of age commits a Class C infraction.

HB 1043 also makes it a Class C infraction if a person less than 21 years of age: (1) purchases craft hemp flower; (2) accepts craft hemp flower for personal use; or (3) possesses craft hemp flower on his or her person.

It also provides that a person who, while a motor vehicle is in operation or located on the right-of-way of a public highway, possesses a container that contains craft hemp flower, and: (1) the container does not have tamper evident packaging; or (2) the tamper evident packaging has a broken seal, commits a Class C infraction.

The legislation allows that craft hemp flower is not included in the definition of “controlled substance analog,” hashish, low THC hemp extract or marijuana and repeals the definition of “smokable hemp” and criminal penalties concerning smokable hemp.