URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n699/a03.html
Newshawk: Herb Couch
Votes: 0
Pubdate: Mon, 12 Dec 2016
Source: Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)
Copyright: 2016 The Commercial Appeal
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Website: http://www.commercialappeal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/95
Author: Jake Lowary
Page: 1B
MEDICAL MARIJUANA BILL INTRODUCED IN TENNESSEE
NASHVILLE – Medical marijuana will again become a topic of discussion and legislation during the 2017 legislative session.
An announcement from the House Republican Caucus on Friday said an official announcement will come next week from state Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, and Sen. Steve Dickerson, RNashville, who are planning to introduce legislation about medical marijuana.
Medical marijuana has been a popular discussion within the legislature in recent years, and support from both parties has been steadily growing. Details about the legislation were not immediately clear.
Though the measure is being introduced by Republican members in both houses, sources at the legislature told the Tennessean that it will likely meet opposition from legislators in the GOP, including Majority Leader Rep. Glen Casada, R-Franklin.
In 2015, the legislature passed another Republican-led initiative to allow the cultivation of industrial hemp to produce cannabidiol oil ( CBD oil ) that proponents say allows alternative treatment options for seizures, pain and other medical conditions. Hemp is used in myriad products from clothing to rope and others.
Since then, many industrial hemp farms have been created across the state.
A similar bill to allow limited use of medical marijuana died in 2015. There was barely any discussion on the measure during the 2016 session.
Historically, legislative measures to allow medical use of marijuana have been championed by liberal-leaning lawmakers or state legislatures. However, Tom Angell, the founder and chairman of Marijuana Majority, said the issue is becoming less partisan and “it’s not terribly surprising” that Republicans are leading the effort now in Tennessee.
“Letting seriously ill people follow their doctors’ recommendations without fear of being sent to jail is a concept that appeals to people across party lines, and polls consistently bear that out,” Angell said.
A November poll by Vanderbilt University indicates a growing acceptance among Tennesseans for less restrictions on the use of marijuana. Seventy-five percent of those polled responded that marijuana should be legal for personal use ( 33 percent ) or legal for only medicinal use ( 42 percent ).
The results of the same poll in 2015 indicated 26 percent of respondents said marijuana should be legal for personal use, showing a growing level of acceptance among Tennesseans.
Faison has been conducting research into the use of marijuana in recent months. Sources in the legislature say he’s passionate about the legislation and how medical marijuana might be used in Tennessee, specifically among military veterans who might be battling post-traumatic stress disorder or other conditions related to their service.
Earlier this year, Faison went to Colorado to research Colorado’s legislation and outright legalization. He documented the trip on Facebook, and interviewed people about their use of marijuana to treat medical conditions.
In September, Sen. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, told The Leaf-Chronicle during an election debate that research about the use of medical marijuana should continue. Green and Dickerson are both doctors, and have previously suggested medical marijuana could be helpful to veterans, specifically.
MAP posted-by: Matt