Urge Wilder to appoint medical marijuana study committee

Published: June 9, 2005

Sen. Stephen Cohen (D-Memphis) announced in April that Speaker of the Senate John Wilder (D-Mason)—who is also the lieutenant governor—would form a legislative committee to study the benefits of medical marijuana. While Wilder has assured Sen. Cohen that he will appoint the committee this summer, he has yet to make official appointments.

Please click here to contact Lt. Gov. Wilder, thank him for his leadership on this issue, and urge him to appoint the committee.

After the committee is appointed, we'll need your help to convince its members to issue a scientifically and medically accurate report. To do so, we need to line up doctors, nurses, patients, and other public officials who are willing to testify before the committee. Please e-mail adam@mpp.org if you are or know one of the above.

Wilder's decision to create the study committee followed a committee hearing on S.B. 1942—Sen. Cohen's medical marijuana bill—which ended in a 3-3 tie. The establishment of this special committee marks the end of the bill's journey through the legislature during this year's half of the 2005-2006 biennial session.

S.B. 1942 and H.B. 968—the House companion bill, which did not receive a hearing—may be finished for this calendar year, but the session spans over two years, so these bills are far from dead. The goal of protecting Tennessee's medical marijuana patients from arrest and prison is visible on the political horizon.

And even though the legislature is in recess, we can't afford to take a vacation from advocating for medical marijuana patients. During the summer, we need to continue to build grassroots support for S.B. 1942 and H.B. 968. So, if you are a member of a professional organization, a medical association, a social club, an Elk's Club, or another organization in Tennessee that may be willing to support medical marijuana, please also e-mail adam@mpp.org so that we can work to secure your group's endorsement of medical marijuana legislation.

Please tell your friends and family about this page, so that they can speak up for seriously ill patients in Tennessee. Thank you for continuing to support the Marijuana Policy Project.