Know Your Rights

The four points above are the whole picture in miniature. Everything else on this page is the detail behind them — the penalty ladder, the traffic-stop script, forfeiture exposure, and the specific things that remain legal.

Indiana Code § 35-48-4-11 — a single statute governs possession of marijuana, hashish, hash oil, and salvia divinorum, plus cultivation (see §4). Two variables drive the tier: (A) a prior drug conviction and (B) the weight of the substance.

The 5-gram concentrate trap

The Level 6 felony trigger for concentrates is only 5 grams — versus 30 grams for flower. A single vape cartridge (~1 g of distillate) counts as ~1 g of hash oil. Five cartridges — routinely sold in multi-packs at border-state dispensaries — cross the felony line for anyone with a prior drug conviction. A “prior drug conviction” includes marijuana or methamphetamine, cocaine, or any other controlled substance, in Indiana, any other state, or federal court. A decades-old misdemeanor counts.

There is no small-amount decriminalization. Even a single joint is a Class B misdemeanor with genuine jail exposure.

Indiana Code § 35-48-4-10. Possession with intent to manufacture, finance, deliver, or finance the delivery of a controlled substance requires independent intent evidence or a trigger amount:

Felony max fine: $10,000. Add court costs and the collateral consequences in §9–§10.

Border-relevant warning

Bringing multiple dispensary-sourced products back across the border invites a dealing theory: a few ounces of flower plus a selection of carts commonly triggers the “intent to deliver” inference. Telling police “I just came from the dispensary” directly establishes that intent. Keep that answer to yourself — see §7.

IC 35-48-4-11(a)(2)–(3) treats any growing/cultivation of marijuana — and knowingly failing to destroy plants growing on premises you own/control — identically to possession of harvested product:

• Any amount grown: Class B → Class A (with prior) → Level 6 (prior + 30 g harvested).
• Prosecutors may in practice charge cultivation as dealing under §3.

• No medical-card recognition. A valid Illinois, Michigan, or Ohio card provides zero Indiana defense.
• No foreign-state defense. “I bought it legally” is not a defense to an Indiana or federal charge.
• Federal exposure: Crossing a state line with cannabis violates 21 U.S.C. § 841 (manufacture/distribution) or § 844 (simple possession) regardless of which states are involved. Federal trafficking penalties are severe: 100–999 kg → 5–40 years; 1000 kg+ → 10 yrs–life. Quantities across the border are rarely that high, but the exposure exists.
• Buying in quantity magnifies risk: quantity + packaging + cash = the classic intent-to-deliver case.

Indiana Code § 34-24-1-1 authorizes seizing a vehicle used or intended to be used to transport a product where the underlying conduct amounts to dealing in marijuana (IC 35-48-4-10) or related controlled-substance violations.

What puts a vehicle at risk

• A vehicle used to transport moderate-to-large quantities across the border.
• Forfeiture is a civil in-rem action against the property — it can proceed even without a criminal conviction (as in Butler).

The 2018 reforms + the Timbs safeguard

• After a federal district court struck down Indiana’s forfeiture scheme in Washington v. Marion County (2017) for due-process problems, the 2018 amendments added procedural protections: the prosecutor must file a probable-cause affidavit within 7 days of seizure, the court must make a probable-cause determination, non-possessory owners may petition for provisional release, and the forfeiture complaint must be filed within the 21/90-day windows (IC 34-24-1-3).
• Timbs v. Indiana (SCOTUS, 2019): the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause applies to vehicle forfeiture. Forfeiting Timbs’s Land Rover over drug-dealing conduct was deemed grossly disproportionate and reversed. Proportionality challenges are available on the specific facts.
• Butler v. State (Ind. Ct. App., 2019): the 2018 amendments were procedural (not ex post facto); the driver’s car and $236 in cash were forfeited over 34 g. Owner-vehicle exemptions do not apply in civil forfeiture.

Practical guidance

• An innocent owner who had reason to know of misuse may lose. The record owner must litigate.
• Do not default: a default judgment = forfeiture without contest.
• Levers: contest probable cause, enforce the 21/90-day deadlines, and raise proportionality (Timbs).

Practical, Indiana-specific guidance. Goals: do not consent, do not confess, limit the stop, document. Everything you say is evidence.

Mnemonic SURF — Say little, Unconsent, Record, Free-question.

1. Pull over promptly and safely. Do not flee — resisting law enforcement is a real felony. Signal and stop well off the roadway.
2. Hands on the wheel, no fidgeting. Don’t reach into the glovebox or under the seat until asked; sudden movements invite escalation and search.
3. Identify yourself. You must produce license, registration, and insurance on request. If you lack the physical license, provide name/address/DOB. Refusing to identify is itself a crime (Class C misdemeanor).
4. “Do you know why I stopped you?” → Resist the confession bait: “I’d rather not discuss that. Am I free to go?”
5. “Do you have any drugs or weapons in the car?” / “Where are you headed?” → You may lawfully remain silent (Fifth Amendment): “I’m going to exercise my right to remain silent.”
6. “Can I search your car?” → “Officer, I do not consent to a search.” Say it once, calmly. Consent is voluntary — allowing it waives your Fourth Amendment rights.
7. “I smell marijuana.” → In Indiana, odor alone (burnt or raw) gives probable cause to search the vehicle without a warrant — courts have repeatedly upheld this (see Indiana v. Moore, 2023). Claiming “it’s CBD / delta-8” doesn’t stop the search (the odor is judged in the field). The legal-hemp separation is a court argument, not a roadside one.
8. Passengers may be given lawful orders; each person/area searched still needs independent probable cause or consent, but Indiana doesn’t protect a passenger much more than the driver.
9. “Am I being detained, or am I free to go?” → Ask and repeat. A stop may only last as long as reasonably needed (records, ticket, warning). Detaining you longer while they wait for a K9 — without additional probable cause/reasonable suspicion — is improper. Don’t argue it roadside; argue it in court.
10. Recording: Indiana permits audio/video recording of police in public. Have a passenger record quietly. Don’t turn it into a confrontation.
11. If an officer asks about/for your phone (during an infraction stop): IC 34-28-5-3 generally bars police from extracting or downloading a cellphone without consent, probable cause-plus-warrant, or other lawful authority. Reply: “I do not consent to a phone search.”
12. If you are arrested → Expect an inventory search of the vehicle (lawful and thorough). Invoke once: “I want to talk to my lawyer,” then stop talking — no explanations, no small talk with transport officers.

Script phrases to memorize

• “Officer, I do not consent to any search.”
• “Am I being detained, or am I free to go?”
• “I’m going to exercise my right to remain silent.”
• “I want to talk to my lawyer.”

• Pretext stops are legal in Indiana. Any minor violation (broken taillight, rolling stop, expiry of plates/registration) is a lawful basis to stop — even if the real motive is drug interdiction. Expect them near border corridors.
• K9 delays: Police cannot hold a stopped driver past the scope of the traffic stop without additional reasonable suspicion; in practice, “I smell a scent” supplies that suspicion. Mid-road dog visits are common on IL/MI/OH border routes.
• Driving impaired: Indiana prohibits driving under the influence of a controlled substance — no need for an alcohol reading. Odor on breath can lead to a blood draw.
• License suspension (IC 9-30-4-6): A drug conviction triggers a one-year driver’s license suspension even when the offense had nothing to do with driving, and IC requires a minimum 180-day mandatory suspension when a motor vehicle is involved in the offense.

Pending change: SB 250 (2026 session)

• SB 250 (Freeman; passed the Senate and House Courts and Criminal Code Committee, amended 2026-02-18) would ban intoxicating / synthetic hemp-derived THC products, extend age restrictions to THC-bearing products, redefine “marijuana” and “smokable hemp”, and impose criminal penalties for violating the hemp-derived cannabinoid law.
• Effective date is proposed to align with the federal date — Nov. 12, 2026 (except minor provisions that take effect earlier).
• Grandfathering: persons legally selling THC hemp extract before Jan. 1, 2026 may continue out-of-state-only sales.
• Other 2026 session bills to track: HB 1191 (decriminalization of possession of 2 oz or less), HB 1298 (moving marijuana and THC from Schedule I to III in Indiana).
• These bills could pass or fail during the current session — re-verify status before relying on §9.

Federal context: On the federal side, only state-licensed medical marijuana products were moved to Schedule III (April 2026 AG order); a broader rescheduling hearing is pending. Marijuana remains Schedule I federally in other contexts.

• Employment: Indiana has no law protecting firing over a failed cannabis drug test. Private employers may test and terminate even for off-duty use in a legal state. No medical-card defense applies (Indiana has no medical program).
• Professional licenses and financial aid: state scholarships and various professional licenses can be affected by a drug conviction.
• Expungement: Indiana permits petition to expunge certain records — waiting periods are long and strict (no pending charges; all fines/fees/restitution paid; unrelated new offenses can restart the clock).
• Driver’s license: see §8.
• Cash forfeiture: cash found near the drugs during a stop can go through the same civil forfeiture process, as in Butler ($236) and Jennings ($1,474).

1. Remain silent — You already invoked; don’t debrief with officers, jail staff, or anyone else.
2. Get a criminal-defense lawyer before making any statement. An attorney consultation is cheap relative to the cost of a conviction.
3. Conditional discharge (IC 35-48-4-12) may be available for a first offense: If you plead to a single misdemeanor possession, the court may withhold judgment; completing conditions results in dismissal with no conviction. One-time, court discretion, not a right, not felonies.
4. Suppressed evidence: If the traffic stop or search violated the Fourth Amendment, a motion to suppress may get the evidence excluded — which can destroy the case. Moore’s search holding, search-law grounds, and the civil procedural deadlines are all attack points.
5. Weights and formalities matter — the 30 g / 5 g / 10 lb / 300 g thresholds are strict statutory triggers. Require verified lab evidence of weight and substance, and have a lawyer review the intent element.

1. IC 35-48-4-11 — Possession, hashish, cultivation (§§2, 4)
2. IC 35-48-4-10 — Dealing (§3); IC 35-48-4-10.1 — smokable hemp transit exception (§9)
3. IC 35-48-4-12 — Conditional discharge (§11)
4. IC 34-24-1, IC 34-24-1-3, IC 34-24-1-4 — Vehicle seizure/forfeiture (§6)
5. IC 15-15-13-6 — Hemp definition (≤ 0.3% delta-9) (§9)
6. IC 34-28-5-3 — Cell-phone search protection during infraction stops (§7); IC 9-30-4-6 — License suspension (§8)
7. ISP Forensic Services Division — current statutory weight thresholds
8. NORML — Indiana penalties summary
9. Case law: Moore v. State, Ind. Ct. App. 2023 (odor = reasonable suspicion / probable cause); Timbs v. Indiana, 586 U.S. ___ (2019); Butler v. State, 140 N.E.3d 870 (Ind. Ct. App. 2019); Jennings v. State, 553 N.E.2d 191 (Ind. Ct. App. 1990)
10. IGA 2026 session: HB 1191, HB 1298, SB 250
11. Indiana Capital Chronicle (2026-02-02), Indianapolis Star (2025/2026) — legislative and government reporting

Re-verify before publication: recheck statutes at the Indiana General Assembly (iga.in.gov) and the ISP weight-threshold PDF. Federal status changes (medical rescheduling) do not change Indiana state enforcement.