Indiana Doctors, Patients Praise State's CBD Oil Approval

ACROSS INDIANA -- Local physicians and their patients are celebrating after the use of CBD oil in Indiana is officially legal. Herald Times reports the use of cannabis compound is approved in the state after almost a year of uncertainty and questions from patients who've been using the oil for pain treatment and physicians who swear by its effectiveness.

The Herald Times reports speculation and confusion took off in November when Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill made an opinionated statement that CBD oil should be illegal in the state, stating, "Simply put, cannabidiol is a Schedule I controlled substance because marijuana (cannabis sativa) is a Schedule I controlled substance."

The news report says Cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD or hemp oil, is a cannabis compound that contains little or no THC, the compound that creates the high commonly associated with marijuana use, and studies show it can alleviate the effects of Parkinson’s disease, reduce inflammation and blood pressure, relax muscles, reduce anxiety and substance abuse behaviors and provide pain relief.

RELATED: IN AG Says Pot-Derived Oil Illegal Except For Epilepsy Patients

Dr. Gary Gettelfinger, who practices out of the IU Health Pain Center on Bloomington's east side, said he is thrilled with the new law, as he'd already been treating roughly 400 patients with CBD oil because Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb had signed a bill into law last April allowing its medical use to treat children with epilepsy if the oil contained at least 5 percent CBD and less than 0.3 percent THC.

Holcomb issued a 60-day postponement shortly after Hill's letter in November, directing Indiana Excise Police to "educate, inform and issue warnings to retailers" instead of confiscating CBD oil in stores, before extending this "education period" in late January until the end of the legislative session.

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