Governor extends enforcement moratorium on CBD oil sales by Indiana retailers

"I said back in November that I was open to extending the education period on CBD oil products to give legislators the time they need to add clarity to Indiana law," Holcomb said. "Lawmakers have indicated they would like more time to consider proposed legislation."

"For that reason, I am extending the education period for CBD oil products and the moratorium on issuing citations or removing products from retailers until the legislative session concludes."

Holcomb's initial order followed the release of an official opinion by the Republican attorney general that found even though Indiana lawmakers last year authorized Hoosiers with treatment-resistant epilepsy to use CBD oil, they did not authorize retailers to sell the product.

Moreover, Hill said even those individuals entitled to use CBD oil under state law still are prohibited by federal law from doing so, because marijuana and marijuana-derived products are banned controlled substances — even those, such as CBD oil, that lack the ingredient that produces a "high."

"There is no doubt, as a matter of legal interpretation, that products or substances marketed generally for human consumption or ingestion, and containing cannabidiol, remain unlawful in Indiana as well as under federal law," Hill said.

Several measures pending in the Indiana House and Senate would allow any Hoosier to purchase and use CBD oil under an exception for industrial hemp products enacted into federal law in 2015.