Last verified: April 2026
The Statute: IC 35-48-4-10
Indiana Code § 35-48-4-10 covers the manufacture, financing, delivery, and possession-with-intent-to-deliver of marijuana, hashish, hash oil, and salvia. The base offense — delivery or manufacture of any amount — is a Class A misdemeanor (365 days, $5,000). The statute then escalates by weight, with two parallel tracks: a marijuana track measured in grams and pounds, and a concentrates track measured in grams.
A common online error references “IC 35-48-4-1.1” for marijuana trafficking. That subsection covers methamphetamine, not cannabis. The correct citation for cannabis dealing in Indiana is IC 35-48-4-10.
A person who knowingly or intentionally manufactures, finances the manufacture of, delivers, finances the delivery of, or possesses with intent to manufacture, finance, or deliver marijuana, hash oil, hashish, or salvia commits dealing in marijuana, hash oil, hashish, or salvia.
Indiana Code § 35-48-4-10(a)
The Weight Ladder
| Quantity | Class | Sentence | Maximum Fine |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base dealing (any amount) | Class A misdemeanor | up to 365 days jail | $5,000 |
| 30g – 10 lb marijuana, or 5 – 300g hashish/hash oil | Level 6 felony | 6 months – 2.5 yrs (advisory 1 yr) | $10,000 |
| 10 lb+ marijuana, or 300g+ hashish/hash oil | Level 5 felony | 1 – 6 yrs (advisory 3 yrs) | $10,000 |
Sentencing under IC 35-50-2-6 (Level 5) and IC 35-50-2-7 (Level 6); fine maximum under IC 35-50-2-4. Advisory sentences are presumptive, not mandatory.
Enhancements That Collapse a Tier Upward
Five categories of conduct under IC 35-48-4-10 escalate the offense from Class A misdemeanor or Level 6 felony directly to Level 5 felony, regardless of weight:
- Sale to a minor. Sales to a person under 18 when the defendant is at least 18 and at least three years older.
- School or park zone. Sales within 500 feet of school property or a public park, as defined in IC 35-48-1-16.5. The 500-foot ring is measured from property lines, not building walls, and applies whether or not children are present.
- Substance-abuse facility zone. Sales within 100 feet of a substance-abuse-treatment facility.
- Firearm enhancement. Possession of a firearm during the offense, even if the firearm is not used or displayed. This is the enhancement most often added in Indianapolis traffic-stop cases.
- Hemp-mimicry packaging. Marijuana packaged to mimic legal hemp extract (matching brands, fonts, label layout, or container shapes used by Delta-8 retailers). Added in response to Indiana’s Delta-8 retail boom.
The “Weight Alone” Limit on Possession-With-Intent
One of the most important defendant-side provisions in IC 35-48-4-10 is subsection (b): a conviction for possession-with-intent-to-deliver cannot rest on weight alone. The state must produce additional evidence of intent to distribute — baggies, scales, packaging, ledgers, separated portions, communications, or larger quantities of cash. The provision was designed to prevent prosecutors from charging dealing on the basis of, say, a half-pound stored in a single Mason jar with no other distribution indicia.
Continuing Criminal Enterprise and Repeat Offenders
IC 35-48-4-10 contains repeat-offender escalation language. A defendant with a prior IC 35-48-4-10 conviction faces an additional sentencing-range increase. A “continuing criminal enterprise” charge under IC 35-50-2-1 can attach when dealing is alleged across an organized series of transactions, particularly where firearms or interstate movement are involved.
How Federal Trafficking Layers On Top
Indiana’s 10-pound Level 5 felony threshold is far below the 100-kilogram (220-pound) threshold for a federal mandatory-minimum trafficking charge under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B). But for any quantity moved across a state line — including a single ounce driven from Niles, Michigan to South Bend — federal trafficking law applies regardless of state quantity tiers. Most cross-border-driver cases are charged in state court, but federal exposure is theoretical and routinely warned of.
Civil Asset Forfeiture in Dealing Cases
Indiana’s forfeiture chapter, IC 34-24-1, lets prosecutors seize vehicles, cash, and property “used to facilitate” an IC 35-48-4 offense. Dealing charges almost always include a civil-forfeiture filing alongside the criminal docket. The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2019 ruling in Timbs v. Indiana — an Indiana case — applies the Eighth Amendment’s Excessive Fines Clause to state forfeitures, but the doctrine is enforced case-by-case and does not categorically protect lower-value assets.
Explore Indiana Cannabis Law
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