“Tennessee (lawmakers are) nowhere close to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana.” That’s according to Tennessee Representative David Hawk, R. “Really, I don’t see recreational marijuana passing in the state of Tennessee in the next decade,” he said. On the other hand, Tennessee voters are pushing for reform measures similar to how other states are doing across the country. Most recently, New Mexico, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Virginia have legalized recreational cannabis for citizens over 21. Tennessee hasn’t even legalized medical cannabis.
But not all Republican lawmakers in Tennessee think this way. Not only did lawmakers approve of a bill to expand the state’s medical CBD program, the governor signed it into law. The focus of that bill, SB 118, was to increase the THC limit of CBD from 0.3 to 0.9 percent and add more conditions to the qualifying CBD medical program list, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and cancer. However, while patients can carry the increased limit of THC CBD products, they must be purchased out of state, as Tennessee doesn’t offer that high of a THC count in general stores in the state.
Clashing Viewpoints
The current Chairman of the House Republican Caucus is Representative Jeremy Fiason, R. When originally elected, he too agreed that cannabis was dangerous and needed to be prohibited from the general public’s hands.
“I’m a witness to what that plant offers them,” the Representative said. “And it’s far better than a barbiturate, far better than an opiate, and it’s far safer. The vast majority of Tennesseans don’t want to get high. They want to get relief.”
While he is pushing for legalization of cannabis in both medical and recreational forms, Chairman Faison mentioned that this is an overall process. “Let’s have an intellectually honest conversation,” he said regarding his fellow Republican lawmakers as well as Democratic ones. “What’s the problem here? You realize it’s not that plant. And you realize that putting everybody in jail isn’t working.”
Lawmaker Response
Most recently, Representative Bruce Griffey, R, proposed HB 1634. This bill would put three separate questions on the general election ballot in 2022. Each question deals with legalizing cannabis in different forms within the state.
- “Should the State of Tennessee legalize medical marijuana?”
- “Do you think the State of Tennessee should decriminalize possession of less than one ounce (1 oz) of marijuana?”
- “Should the State of Tennessee legalize and regulate commercial sales of recreational use marijuana?”
This poll will allow citizens and voters to have a say in the legislative process. “Look, if the citizens vote in favor of it, it’s going to be hard for the legislature to not look at it,” Representative Griffey told the Tennessee Star Newspaper. “There’s people that are on both sides of this issue in Tennessee – and honestly I feel like we’re up there as caretakers of the people. We’re not supposed to be dictators, we’re supposed to be responsive to what the people want us to do.”
Furthermore, voters need not worry about any backlashes. The questions proposed are non-binding. That means lawmakers are only asking for citizens’ opinions, not holding them accountable should they either change their mind or don’t have an opinion now or develop or change theirs over time.
In addition, these questions will also hold lawmakers accountable as they will have distinct and precise opinions in front of them on what their voters want and don’t want regarding cannabis legalization.
Future
HB 1634 has only been proposed in the House. It still needs to be ratified and approved by the full House before moving on to the Senate for consideration. This appears to be a positive opportunity for advocates to push lawmakers in the right direction, whether that be for or against legalization efforts.
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