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Tennessee lawmakers have passed a bill to block an automatic review that could potentially legalize medical marijuana under state law following the federal rescheduling of the drug.
Under current Tennessee law, federal reclassification of a substance triggers an automatic review by the state’s commissioner of health and commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. But under HB1972 and its companion SB1603, which lawmakers voted to send to Gov. Bill Lee (R) on Monday, that would not be the case when it comes to cannabis.
“If marijuana is rescheduled or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law, then the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services shall not reschedule or delete marijuana under [state drug laws] unless the general assembly has established a regulatory framework for marijuana and authorized the commissioner to reschedule or delete marijuana as a controlled substance,” the bill says.
Sen. Ferrell Haile (R), the lead sponsor of the senate legislation, said, “We don’t want the Wild West out here. We want the General Assembly deciding how we decide and deal with things.”
But Sen. Kerry Roberts (R) argued that it’s unlikely the legislature “will ever do anything” to legalize medical cannabis.
“We haven’t done anything for years,” he said, according to The Tennessean. “So if the feds make a decision to reschedule, delete or redesignate, I just don’t have any confidence that we’ll ever do anything.”
Last month, however, House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R) said the push to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) could remove roadblocks at the state level.
“My biggest objections are being resolved by the federal government right now in rescheduling cannabis and rescheduling specifically marijuana and allowing the doctors to take over and make a determination on how and if these substances could be helpful,” Lamberth said.
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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Tennessee similarly discussed how the federal move to reclassify marijuana could open the door to medical marijuana reform after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December directing officials to finalize the process.
House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said at the time that rescheduling represents a “first step” to medical cannabis reform in Tennessee, though he noted there are still certain outstanding logistical questions to answer.
“There will have to be conversations about who manufactures it, who tests it, who distributes, which medical illness could it be used for, does this require [federal Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] approval and a host of other questions,” Sexton said.
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
Tom Angell is the editor of Marijuana Moment. A 25-year veteran in the cannabis and drug law reform movement, he covers the policy, politics, science and culture of marijuana, psychedelics and other substances. He previously reported for Forbes, Marijuana.com and MassRoots, and was given the Hunter S. Thompson Media Award by NORML and has been named Journalist of the Year by Americans for Safe Access. As an activist, Tom founded the nonprofit Marijuana Majority and handled media relations, campaigns and lobbying for Law Enforcement Against Prohibition and Students for Sensible Drug Policy.
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