No sweeping cannabis legislation — good or bad — came out of the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly, which is now winding down in Nashville.
But cannabis in Tennessee was still very much on the minds of Tennessee lawmakers this session. The session offered no glimmer of hope for the cannabis industry here as a July 1 deadline will strip some of the most popular products from store shelves.
State legislators swung the ban hammer on hemp-derived THC products last year. Then, federal lawmakers did the same thing. Tennessee stores now have until the end of June to pull smokeable flower, vapes, or anything other “intoxicating” product off the market.
Estimates say these products account for more than half of retail cannabis sales in Tennessee. Industry insiders say this move could effectively kill the cannabis market here. No moves by lawmakers sought to reverse this notion this year, especially after Congress changed the federal Farm Bill legislation. (The 2018 version of that bill gave rise to the hemp-derived product market.)
Still cannabis remained a topic of debate in Nashville this year. Here are some of those bills:
Ballot Initiatives — Both Memphis state Sens. London Lamar and Raumesh Akbari wanted to give citizens the right to formally voice their opinions on cannabis laws. Both filed bills that would put the question on local election ballots. But they differed slightly.
Lamar’s bill would have put three questions on ballots:
• Should the state of Tennessee legalize medical marijuana?
• Should the state of Tennessee decriminalize possession of less than one ounce of marijuana?
• Should the state of Tennessee legalize and regulate commercial sales of recreational use marijuana?
Akbari’s bill would have simply asked voters on question: Should “this state should legalize the sale, possession, and use of medical cannabis?”
Tennessee does not have the ballot initiative, meaning voters cannot enact laws from voting booths. However, results from ballot questions can provide formal proof to lawmakers.
Medical marijuana readiness — A GOP-led bill would have tried to figure out whether or not Tennessee is even ready for a medical marijuana program. Cool, right? They wanted the report this year but were told state experts could not have it ready in that timeframe.
So, they used an amendment on the bill to make sure the legislature controlled marijuana decisions even further.
The bill on Gov. Bill Lee’s desk right now says if marijuana is rescheduled on the federal level, the state Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services can’t just remove it from state law. The legislature does that, thank you very much.
“Small amount of marijuana” — Akbari tried to increase the amount of marijuana “considered a small amount of marijuana” for criminal sentencing matters.
That limit is now a half ounce. Akbari wanted it raised to five ounces. But the bill failed in a late-March committee.
Pot for Potholes — Taxes from recreational marijuana sales in Tennessee would have funded millions of dollars worth of road work. Get it, pot for potholes.
The idea from state Rep. Aftyn Behn (D-Nashville) promised more than $18 million to the general fund in four years. But it got no love from Republicans who shot it down in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Special cannabis session — As lawmakers prepared to wrap up, state Rep. Jason Powell (D-Nashville) wanted to bring them back sometime soon to have a real, thorough discussion on medical cannabis.
“For years, Tennesseans have been told to wait,” Powell said. “We created a commission. We studied the issue. We have heard from patients, doctors, and families across this state. At some point, we have to be willing to act.”
The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission has been meeting and cranking out reports and suggestions for state lawmakers since it was established in 2021. Thousands of hours of debate and testimonials have yielded little if anything lawmakers have actually acted upon.
Even the bill asking TACIR to study medical marijuana here seemed to glaze completely over the fact that earnest and serious of the discussion of the matter here has been underway for years.
Powell said Tennessee should not continue to delay while other states move forward and federal policy shifts.