Jason Straw, the chair of the Indiana branch of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML, said the restriction on delta-8 doesn’t just affect Hoosiers who use the substance recreationally. It also would harm those who rely on it.

Hoosiers suffering from opioid addiction, Parkinson’s disease and post-traumatic stress disorder have found delta-8 THC an effective alternative to delta-9 based medical marijuana, according to Straw.

“Delta-8 is a harm reduction tool for opioid abusers and for these patients [with PTSD and chronic illnesses],” Straw said.

“When Indiana makes a product like delta-8 illegal, they have to either go out of state—taking their tax dollars with them—to get what they need or buy cannabis illegally on the street, thus risking the quality of the product,” Straw said.

The bill would have a large financial impact on hemp retailers and farmers. Straw said just one retailer he’s spoken to will lose over $1 million. The retailer owns three stores.

In the past, Gov. Eric Holcomb has said he would only be interested in marijuana legalization for Indiana if it were legalized on the federal level. But Straw says this isn’t what is holding the state back.

“When I go down and I talk to people at the Statehouse, they kind of give this response of, ‘Well, we just can’t believe it’s that good. We can’t believe that it does all the things that it does,’” Straw said. “The problem is, it’s a lack of education.”

Straw estimates that about 40% of Republicans in the legislature support legalizing marijuana, while about 60% don’t. His conversations with lawmakers have shown that they were taught marijuana is bad and changing their minds happens one at a time.

“That’s what’s really holding us up,” Straw said. “It’s not Gov. Holcomb because he has the weakest veto, and it takes more work to get the bill to his desk than it does to bring it back and overturn.”

Nineteen states have regulated or restricted delta-8 already, including neighboring states Michigan and Kentucky.