Bipartisan Tennessee Legislation Could Allow Voter Public Opinion Poll About Marijuana Legalization

Rep. Bruce Griffey (R) and Sen. Sara Kyle (D) from Tennessee, are sponsoring legislation enabling voters to weigh in with a state-sponsored public opinion poll. Senate Bill 1973/House Bill 1634 would require county election commissions to include three non-binding questions related to the legalization of marijuana on the 2022 ballot, reported the Tennessee Lookout.

Although medical marijuana measures have moved slightly in committees in recent years, none made it to the House floor.

“To me, there’s no downside to it, very minimal cost. Let the Tennessee voters at least express their opinion in an unbiased manner so all of us as legislators have a sense of what the voters would like us to do,” Rep. Griffey said. “We’ve been wrestling around with this for years and years now. A bunch of jurisdictions have taken a step to legalize it. There’s certainly some valid arguments, is marijuana any worse than alcohol in certain situations?”

Sen. Kyle noted that states across the nation allow the use of medical marijuana. In fact, Tennessee is in the minority, allowing only cannabidiol or CBD.

The bill requires county election commissions to include a public policy opinion poll consisting of the following questions related to the legalization of marijuana on the November 2022 ballot:

(1) Should the State of Tennessee legalize medical marijuana?

(2) Should the State of Tennessee decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana?

(3) Should the State of Tennessee legalize and regulate commercial sales of recreational-use marijuana?

This bill requires the secretary of state to compile the results of the poll and forward the results to the members of the general assembly. The outcome of the poll will not be binding on the general assembly.

Image Via El Planteo