A medical marijuana bill heads to the Tennessee Senate floor. This bill will allow some patients with certain medical conditions to possess marijuana.
This follows committee approval; lawmakers also approved a separate measure. That will create a commission to study state and federal cannabis laws.
The first bill is sponsored by Sen. Becky Duncan Massey (R). It will amend the state statute to allow a medical cannabis exemption.
SB 1209 Breakdown
It will be for people with written proof that they have been diagnosed with one of 11 approved conditions. Some examples of the approved conditions are cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and HIV/AIDS.
The one issue is that Tennessee does not have any cannabis dispensaries where patients could lawfully purchase medical cannabis. Although, lawmakers are working on a way around this.
The bill stipulates that possessing marijuana would be legal if the patient has 1. Proof they obtained it to treat a medical condition and 2. They purchased it from a licensed medical marijuana dispensary in a jurisdiction where the sale of cannabis is legal.
Practically of the Bill
All this means is that a patient would be able to go to another state to obtain a medical cannabis recommendation and then purchase cannabis to bring it back to Tennessee. This will undoubtedly create a lengthy and difficult process for patients. The legislation will even create multiple restrictions for the allowable marijuana products.
Some other restrictions will be no smoking or vaping the cannabis product. Patients cannot have more than a 30-day supply or no more than 2,800mg of THC in their possession. The cannabis must be in the original packaging. It must also have a label from the dispensary indicating it is for therapeutic use.
However, for a qualified patient living in Tennessee, this proposal appears to be more beneficial to out-of-state marijuana patients traveling through Tennessee.
Nonetheless, the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced the proposal with a 5-3 vote on Monday. Now it will head to the floor for consideration.
Tennessee and Cannabis
A bill that was much broader to establish a medical cannabis program advanced through multiple committees earlier this year but was rejected by the Senate Judiciary Committee in March.
The pressure continues to increase on Tennessee to enact a cannabis policy change. Multiple neighboring states to Tennessee have either passed legislation or are currently working on it. In Alabama, there is a Senate-passed bill that will legalize medical cannabis that is heading to the House Floor. North Carolina has introduced multiple reform bills in recent weeks. Virginia legalized marijuana for adult use in April.
Tennessee voters are in favor of the policy change. In other words, a survey from 2019 showed that 73 percent of people in Former House Speaker Glen Casada district backed medical cannabis legalization.
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