Help to carry momentum for Tennessee medical marijuana bills

Published: February 13, 2006

Two medical marijuana bills that failed to move through the Tennessee Legislature last year are still alive, and they need your active support to make progress this year. Last year, both the state House and Senate introduced medical marijuana bills, but seriously ill Tennesseans need you to voice your support to build on this momentum.

Please support S.B. 1942 and H.B. 968 by e-mailing your state representative and senator. After you choose your favorite pre-written letter and type in your address, our site will automatically e-mail your letter to your legislators all with the click of a few buttons. The whole process takes less than two minutes, but it makes a world of difference. Alternately, you can print the letters and send them to your legislators through regular mail.

After you e-mail your state legislators, call them and express your support for the bills. Each call only takes a moment but can make a world of difference in pushing the issue forward. Follow this link to find the contact information for your legislators.

Please take action today.

Last year, Senate Bill 1942 was introduced by Sen. Stephen Cohen (D-Memphis) and House Bill 968 was sponsored by Reps. Shepard (D-69) and Briley (D-52). Following a tie vote in the Senate, Senate Speaker and Lt. Gov. John Wilder (D-Mason) agreed to establish a commission to study the consequences of the legislation. Unfortunately, this commission never convened, but Sens. Cohen and Wilder still support the legislation. With your help, we can continue to make progress toward making Tennessee the 12th compassionate state with medical marijuana reform.

S.B. 1942 received a 3-3 vote in committee last year, resulting in a no-pass and a carry-over of the bill to this year. The bill is still alive and will be heard and voted on again this session. H.B. 968 did not receive a hearing last year, and another year cannot go by without this important legislation being considered seriously. The success of reform will depend on your help and whether patients and activists in Tennessee can show their legislators how much they support these bills.

If you would like more information or would like to find out how you can get involved, please contact Adam Horowitz at adam@mpp.org.

Thank you for supporting the Marijuana Policy Project. Please pass this message on to your friends and family around the state so that even more voices for reform can be heard.