Yet again, Tennessee Legislature won’t consider medical marijuana bill
In 2010, the Tennessee Legislature
got somewhat serious about a medical marijuana bill introduced by Sen. Beverly Marrero
(D-Memphis) and Rep.
Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis). The bill was amended from a medical
marijuana bill to a study bill before getting a hearing, but still, at least it
got a hearing. This left advocates excited for the opportunity to build on this
progress in 2011.
You can understand why, then, those
activists were upset when Marrero and Richardson re-introduced their bill and
it wasn’t even given a hearing. Unfortunately, with Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslem opposed to medical
marijuana, the legislature didn’t think it was worth taking the
time to try and relieve the suffering of Tennessee residents with cancer,
HIV/AIDS, multiple sclerosis, and other serious conditions.
Advocates in Tennesse aren’t giving up
though, and neither should you. The only way this, or any bill, gets passed is
by consistently urging legislators to support it – so
please do so now.
If you’d like to know more, or are looking for ways to get involved, sign up for our free email alert
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If you or a loved one share a personal connection to this issue and would like
to help by sharing your story with others, please send an email to driffle@mpp.org that includes
your name, address, description of your medical condition(s), and phone number
at which you can be contacted. You can also head over to our
take action center for more ways to get involved, such as writing
a letter to the editor of your local paper.
CNN profiles medical marijuana advocate Bernie Ellis
Marijuana laws in Tennesse
Did you know that in Tennessee
possession of any amount of marijuana — even as little as a single gram — can
land you in prison for up to a year, with a mandatory fine of between $250 and
$2,500? Or that there were over 23,000 marijuana-related arrests in Tennessee in
2007, and over 82% of these arrests were for simple possession of small amounts
of marijuana? That's almost 20,000 families that will be impacted by arrest,
prosecution, fines, and related effects such as denial of employment or public
benefits.
You can read more about the negative
consequences of Tennessee's marijuana laws in this
excellent profile by Jon Gettman, Ph.D. You can also do
something about it now by asking your state legislator to sponsor legislation
decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. It’ll only take you a
minute to use
our free automated email service to send a message to your
elected officials in support of this sensible reform.
