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INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana is a few steps closer to the possibility of legal medical marijuana.
Veteran Jeff Staker spent the last ten years fighting for it.
“I was prescribed oxycodone through the VA for nearly 10 years and I was running the risk of accidentally overdosing,” said Staker. “A lot of veterans that are within the pain management clinic are taking some sort of narcotic and they would like to, you know, have this choice of taking a plant-based medicine.”
The federal government’s decision Thursday to reclassify the drug from Schedule I, a high abuse, no medical-benefit category with drugs such as heroin and cocaine, to Schedule III, with less-addictive medication such as prescription Tylenol, helps Staker’s argument.
“One thing is going to give us a little bit more legitimacy in it,” he continues, “Now there’s only 10 more states that are remaining for medical and Indiana is one of them, and I’m hoping that the governor will give us a chance to get in his office and have this discussion with him.”
Acting U.S. Attorney General Tom Blanche said the reclassification will also help further medical research in the field.
“‘It is a medicine,” said Staker. “It is helping veterans have a better quality of life. Our veterans have been waiting for this for a long time.
The Indiana Pharmacy Association clarified that the order makes no immediate change in the state.
“What’s new is that state-licensed medical marijuana was never scheduled or permitted under federal law, and so what this essentially does is permits those that prescribe or dispense medical marijuana in states that license that activity to get in registration with the federal government to do those activities,” said Darren Covington, IPHA executive vice president
Covington added that there is not a uniform opinion on the use of medical marijuana among pharmacists.
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“More broadly, we have pharmacists that, you know, support reclassification or, at the very least, decriminalization personal possession of marijuana, but we also have pharmacists who are, you know, opposed to reclassification of marijuana,” he said.
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said he believes the reclassification is long overdue.
“I encounter a lot of people in our community who are suffering and they find great relief from using marijuana,” Mears said. “There’s a lot of people with back issues who have maybe PTSD. A lot of veterans come forward and tell me, “Hey, I’ve been struggling with these issues and marijuana has really assisted me, assisted me and helped me get through the day’ and so I’m just happy that those individuals can take some level of comfort to for them to understand that that the benefits that they’re experiencing are very real.”
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“Let’s get this on the pathway to legalization, so we’re not criminalizing people like veterans and elderly people who are just looking for a solution to some of their healthcare issues,” Mears added.
In his line of work, Mears sees people regularly who benefit from medical marijuana.
“We’ve been very clear that we don’t think that the role of the criminal justice system is to be involved in simple possession of marijuana and and so, you know, we certainly feel that there’s a number of equity reasons in terms of why it’s not necessary to prosecute simple possession of marijuana.”
In the past, Mears said legislation to legalize medical marijuana didn’t move forward in the Statehouse.
“We were told as to why marijuana was not advancing in the legislature was because of how the federal government was classifying the drug, and that’s no longer going to be an issue or a problem,” said Mears.
Now, it comes down to the state to decide what’s next. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s office said they are reviewing the order. 13News reached out to Gov. Mike Braun as well but didn’t hear back.
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Indiana’s Professional Licensing agency said the reclassification topic has been added as a discussion item for the May 11, 2026 board of pharmacy meeting.
Staker and his organization, Hoosier Veterans for Medical Cannabis, plan to meet with state leaders Friday morning to discuss the legalization of medical marijuana in state.