Can CBD get you high, and other questions about the legality of CBD in Indiana

Kaitlin L Lange

Attorney General Curtis Hill deemed cannabidiol oil illegal under Indiana law, in an official opinion Tuesday. 

The announcement followed months of confusion from state law enforcement agencies over the legality of the product. 

Here's what you need to know about CBD and Indiana laws surrounding it:

What is Cannabidiol?

Cannabidiol oil, or CBD oil, is a cannabis extract, typically used for health purposes.

In most cases, and under Indiana law, CBD refers to the extract that comes from hemp plants, a cannabis plant containing less than .3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol  (THC). 

However, typically if the CBD oil used for health purposes comes from a marijuana plant with higher levels of THC, it's deemed medical marijuana.

Can it get you high?

Nope. THC is the chemical that produces a high in marijuana. Hemp-derived CBD only has trace amounts of THC. 

"You could smoke an acre of industrial hemp and you could have a really bad headache before you got high," said Jenna Beckerman, a botanist and plant pathologist at Purdue University.

Is it legal in Indiana?

If it contains more than .3 percent THC, it's illegal in Indiana. That's where the agreement stops.

Attorney Genral Curtis Hill says CBD is illegal, regardless of how much THC is in the product.

During the last legislative session, Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill that created a registry for patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy who want to use CBD. Those on both sides of the CBD legality debate agree: the product is legal for those on the registry. 

A separate 2014 Indiana law created licenses for researchers to grow industrial hemp, defined as containing less than .3 percent THC. The 2014 bill noted that industrial hemp would thereafter be excluded from the definition of marijuana.

But in Hill's official opinion, he states that the use of the 2014 bill was only intended for limited purposes. 

"Simply put, cannabidiol is a schedule 1 controlled substance because marijuana is a schedule 1 controlled substance," Hill said in his written advisory opinion. 

Some in the CBD industry still say it's legal, and plan to fight any law enforcement who try to shut operations down.

So will I get arrested for using it?

For now, whether or not someone gets prosecuted for having CBD oil could depend on the agency. 

While Hill's opinion doesn't have the force of law, it can be used as a guide for officials trying to sort out the state of current law.

Individual police departments and prosecutors can choose whether to charge anyone for possessing or selling CBD oil. 

Stephanie Wilson, a spokeswoman for Holcomb, said he has asked his legal team to "review the opinion for potential impact on state agency operations."

Other police departments and prosecutors can make their own decisions. 

This summer, the Indiana State Excise Police confiscated products at nearly 60 stores, before questions arose about the legality of the busts and CBD. The agency didn't say whether the busts would restart now that Hill's opinion has been released. 

Does the federal government consider it illegal?

The Drug Enforcement Agency released a statement saying it views the product as illegal, except when it's grown by universities or state departments of agriculture under the 2014 Farm Bill.

The DEA also considers marijuana illegal, but the federal government hasn't cracked down on any states that have legalized the product.