Indiana marijuana laws prohibit cannabis for every purpose, recreational and medical alike, and getting caught with any amount is a criminal offense that can put you in jail. The state has no medical marijuana program, does not recognize cards issued elsewhere, and treats a single joint the same as any other controlled substance for charging purposes. Federal rescheduling activity in 2026 has not changed how Indiana prosecutes marijuana cases.
Possession Penalties
Indiana Code 35-48-4-11 sorts marijuana possession into three tiers based on how much you have and whether you have a prior drug conviction.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-11 – Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia
- Possessing any amount with no prior drug conviction is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to 180 days in jail and a fine of up to $1,000.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-11 – Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia
- If you have a prior drug conviction, or if the marijuana is packaged to look like a legal low-THC hemp product, the charge becomes a Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-11 – Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia
- With a prior drug conviction and at least 30 grams of marijuana, the charge jumps to a Level 6 felony, carrying six months to two and a half years in prison and fines up to $10,000.1Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-11 – Possession of Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia2Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-7 – Class D Felony, Level 6 Felony
The weight thresholds are different for hash oil, hashish, and salvia. For hash oil, the Level 6 felony threshold drops to five grams.
A paraphernalia charge often comes stacked on top. Under Indiana Code 35-48-4-8.3, possessing a pipe, bong, or any device intended for use with a controlled substance is a Class C misdemeanor on a first offense, with up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. A second paraphernalia conviction becomes a Class A misdemeanor.3Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-8.3 – Possession of Paraphernalia Getting caught with marijuana and a pipe typically means two counts, not one.
The One Break for First-Time Offenders
Indiana Code 35-48-4-12 gives a judge the option to defer a conviction for a first-time misdemeanor possession charge. If you have no prior drug convictions, plead guilty, and complete the conditions the court sets, the charge is dismissed and no conviction appears on your record. Violate the conditions and the court enters the conviction and imposes the standard penalty.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-12 – Conditional Discharge for Possession as Misdemeanor
You only get this once. A second brush with marijuana possession won’t qualify, no matter how small the amount.
Dealing, Selling, and Growing
A separate statute, Indiana Code 35-48-4-10, covers manufacturing, growing, selling, and financing marijuana sales. Growing even a single plant counts as dealing under Indiana law, not possession.
- Dealing any amount with no aggravating factors is a Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-10 – Dealing in Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia
- Dealing 30 grams up to less than 10 pounds, or dealing any amount with a prior drug conviction, is a Level 6 felony: six months to two and a half years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-10 – Dealing in Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia
- Dealing 10 pounds or more, or selling any amount to a minor, is a Level 5 felony: one to six years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.5Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-10 – Dealing in Marijuana, Hash Oil, Hashish, or Salvia6Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-50-2-6 – Class C Felony, Level 5 Felony
The sale-to-a-minor enhancement applies no matter how little marijuana changes hands. Selling a gram to a 17-year-old is the same felony level as moving ten pounds.
Driving With THC in Your System
Indiana Code 9-30-5-1 makes it a Class C misdemeanor to drive with any detectable amount of a Schedule I controlled substance or its metabolite in your blood. Because marijuana is Schedule I in Indiana, this is a strict standard: you can be charged even if the THC metabolites in your system are from use days earlier and you are not impaired at the time of the stop.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 9 Motor Vehicles 9-30-5-1
The statute offers a narrow defense. You can defeat the charge if you can show all four of these: the substance was marijuana or a marijuana metabolite, you were not actually intoxicated, you did not cause a traffic accident, and the substance was identified through a proper chemical test. Fail on any one and the charge stands.7Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code Title 9 Motor Vehicles 9-30-5-1
This is the trap for people who use marijuana legally in Illinois or Michigan over a weekend. THC metabolites can stay detectable in blood for days or weeks, so a traffic stop on a Wednesday back home can still produce a positive test.
Hemp, CBD, and Delta-8
Indiana carves out a legal exception for hemp-derived products under Indiana Code 15-15-13. A product qualifies as legal hemp only if it contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.8Purdue University Office of Indiana State Chemist. Indiana Code 15-15-13 – Industrial Hemp Delta-8 products currently fit inside that framework because the definition measures only delta-9. Hemp edibles, tinctures, and similar products remain available at retail.
Smokable Hemp Is Still Illegal
Smokable hemp, including hemp flower and hemp bud, is specifically excluded from Indiana’s definition of a legal hemp product.8Purdue University Office of Indiana State Chemist. Indiana Code 15-15-13 – Industrial Hemp Indiana Code 35-48-1-26.6 defines smokable hemp as any hemp product in a form that allows THC to be inhaled as smoke.9Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-1-26.6 – Smokable Hemp Possessing it can lead to criminal charges, and the conditional discharge statute lists smokable hemp alongside marijuana as a deferred-judgment offense.4Indiana General Assembly. Indiana Code 35-48-4-12 – Conditional Discharge for Possession as Misdemeanor Buying hemp flower legally in another state and bringing it home exposes you to a marijuana possession charge.
Out-of-State Cards and Border Crossings
Indiana does not recognize medical marijuana cards from any other state. A valid Illinois or Michigan card gives you no protection the moment you cross into Indiana, and you face the same criminal charges as anyone else.
Transporting marijuana across state lines is also a federal crime, regardless of what either state allows. Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance under federal law for most purposes, which means moving flower, edibles, vape cartridges, or any other cannabis product between states violates the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Collateral Consequences
The jail time and fines are only part of the cost.
Driver’s License Suspension
Indiana law requires a minimum 180-day driver’s license suspension when a drug offense has a connection to the use of a motor vehicle. If marijuana is found in your car during a traffic stop, the court can suspend your license on top of the criminal penalty. This applies even to misdemeanor possession.
Firearm Rights
A felony marijuana conviction, whether Level 5 or Level 6, triggers federal firearm prohibitions. Convicted felons cannot legally possess firearms under federal law. A misdemeanor conviction does not carry the same restriction, but a Level 6 felony based on 30 grams and a prior drug record costs you your gun rights.
Expungement Waiting Periods
Indiana allows expungement petitions for marijuana convictions, but you wait a long time. A misdemeanor conviction requires at least five years from the date of conviction before you can file. A Level 6 felony requires eight years. Higher-level felonies may require eight to ten years from conviction or three to five years from completing your sentence, whichever comes later.10Indiana Courts. Detailed Information on Criminal Case Expungement A prosecutor can agree in writing to a shorter wait, but that is entirely at their discretion.
Enforcement Varies by County
The statute is statewide, but enforcement is not. Marion County (Indianapolis) stopped prosecuting simple possession cases involving less than roughly 30 grams in 2019, and that policy remains in effect. The declination is prosecutorial only. Police in Marion County still have full authority to stop you, search you, seize the marijuana, and book you before the prosecutor declines the case. One county over, a different prosecutor may file every possession case that crosses their desk.
The safest assumption is that any amount of marijuana in Indiana can lead to an arrest and a criminal charge, because in most of the state, it will.
Federal Rescheduling Has Not Changed Indiana Law
On April 28, 2026, the DEA issued a final order moving two narrow categories of marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III: marijuana contained in FDA-approved drug products, and marijuana subject to a state-issued medical marijuana license.11Federal Register. Schedules of Controlled Substances – Rescheduling of Food and Drug Administration Approved Products For Indiana residents, that order changes very little. Indiana has no medical marijuana program, so the state medical license category does not apply here, and unlicensed, bulk, and recreational marijuana remain Schedule I federally. Indiana’s possession charges are based on state statutes and operate independently of the DEA’s classification.