No Medical Marijuana In Tennessee This Year: Senate Committee Kills Proposed Legislation

Tennessee medical marijuana legalization bill, Senate Bill 1104, died in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. The bill sponsored by Tullahoma Republican Janice Bowling would authorize access to medical cannabis for patients with qualifying conditions like cancer, glaucoma, IBS, epilepsy, HIV, MS, opioid addiction, PTSD, TBI, and many others. It would regulate the process for cultivation, production, distribution, transportation and acquiring cannabis for medical use.

“The broad purpose of the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act is to increase low-cost public health options, alleviate suffering, develop agricultural business, incentivize research of THC benefits, and expeditiously license and track medical cannabis from cultivation to point of sale within the boundaries of this state,” according to the proposal.

State Sen. Kerry Roberts (R) joined both Democratic senators on the committee, London Lamar and Sara Kyle in the minority vote, reported WKRN.

Recent Cannabis & Hemp Milestones In Tennessee

In December, Tennessee regulators announced their plan to file new legislation to legalize recreational marijuana. Rep. Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) is behind the effort alongside state Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville).

“It’s a full legalization of cannabis across the state,” Freeman said.

Campbell pointed out that Tennessee needs to stop missing out on tax revenue from cannabis sales.

“Let’s not delude ourselves that people aren’t crossing the border and getting cannabis from other states. Of course, they are,” Campbell said. “So, that’s just income we’re missing out on.”

Meanwhile, Tennessee is investing in its hemp market.

In June of last year, the Hemp Alliance of Tennessee partnered with the Department of Agriculture on a study to examine the feasibility of hemp fiber production for the automotive industry and other sectors of the economy.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently granted $5 million to support the development of the hemp industry in Tennessee. 

Other marijuana-related bills also failed this year or made little progress. For example, the House Elections and Campaign Finance Subcommittee killed a bill last week, sponsored by Rep. Jesse Chism (D-Memphis) that proposes including nonbinding public poll questions about marijuana in the general election ballot in 2024.

Furthermore, another version of medical marijuana legislation, presented by Chism, did not pass committees. The state House took HB0172 off notice and the bill was assigned to the General Subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Photo: Benzinga edit with image by Kindel Media on Pixabay and Roberto Vivancos on Pexel