Will a new medical marijuana sponsor step forward in 2013?
Last year saw major progress on medical marijuana in the Tennessee Legislature. A medical marijuana bill sponsored by Rep. Jeanne Richardson (D-Memphis) was given a hearing in the House Health and Human Resources Committee, and several compelling witnesses testified in support of the bill, including Constance Gee, who used medical marijuana in the Vanderbilt chancellor's residence to combat the symptoms of Meniere's disease when her then-husband was chancellor. Unfortunately, that still wasn't enough to pass the bill.
And now, advocates have been dealt a major setback. Both Rep. Richardson and Sen. Beverly Marrero, the Senate sponsor, were defeated in their primary election battles in 2012 and will no longer be in the legislature to sponsor medical marijuana. That means if we’re going to build on the progress we’ve made, a new sponsor will have to step forward. You can help make that happen by contacting your legislators and asking them to sponsor medical marijuana legislation in Nashville.
If you’d like to know more about marijuana policy in Tennessee, or are looking for ways to get involved, sign up for our free email alert service for all the latest information 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 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 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 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 $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 impacted by arrest, prosecution, fines, and related effects such as denial of employment or public benefits.
