No law yet, but Tennessee legislature finally acts on medical marijuana bill

Last update: June 25, 2010

Despite the fact that it wasn’t passed this year, there’s cause for optimism among supporters of medical marijuana legislation in the Volunteer State. HB 2562, the “Safe Access to Medical Cannabis Act,” was amended in April to provide for a study commission to make recommendations to the legislature as to whether and how to implement a system of patient registration and medical marijuana distribution. Thanks to the efforts of TN-NORML and patient advocate Bernie Ellis, the bill was approved by not one, not two, but three legislative committees before the legislative session ended in June. That represents the most progress in decades in the fight for compassionate relief for Tennessee residents suffering with serious illnesses like cancer, HIV/AIDS, and multiple sclerosis.

So what’s next? This year’s elections will determine the make-up of next year’s legislature and shape the playing field for medical marijuana efforts. Lt. Governor and Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey was an opponent of this bill and is now running for governor, and a win would likely mean no medical marijuana bill could be signed during his term. On the other hand, proponents of the legislation aren’t going to sit around and wait. They’re hopeful that despite the failure to pass legislation, the key players will nonetheless take the initiative to participate in a study of how to implement medical marijuana in order to get a head start on next year’s session, for which another effort is planned.

If you’d like to know more, or are looking for ways to get involved, sign up for our free e-mail alert service for all the latest info and advocacy tools. 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 e-mail 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.

Marijuana laws in Tennessee

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 $2500? Or that there were over 23,000 marijuana-related arrests in Tennessee in 2007 (the last year for which data is available), 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.

Stay connected

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project and all of our allies. To receive news about Tennessee marijuana policy reform as it happens, be sure to subscribe to MPP's free legislative alert service, if you haven't done so already.