Tennessee Senate Democrat pushes cannabis reform following federal move

After President Donald Trump loosened restrictions on marijuana, several Tennessee lawmakers are pushing for medical use in the state. (Photo: Getty Images)

Tennessee lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are calling for new marijuana laws following President Donald Trump’s executive order to loosen cannabis restrictions.

Democratic Sen. London Lamar of Memphis and Republican Rep. Jeremy Faison of Cosby in East Tennessee both said they believe the state needs reform after the president ordered the reclassification of marijuana to Schedule III from Schedule I on the Federal Drug Administration’s list of controlled substances, an indication it has medicinal value but still could be abused. 

Tennessee is one of 10 states that restricts medicinal and recreational marijuana while 22 other states have legalized some form of recreational use.

Democratic Sen. London Lamar of Memphis said Tennessee lawmakers should take note of the federal move and pass new laws for medical use, decriminalization or legalization.

“Our marijuana laws are stuck in the dark ages – overly punitive, out of step with our neighbors and holding our state back,” Lamar, chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus, said in a statement.

The state should support medical research of cannabis for treatment of patients who would choose it for pain medication over dangerous opioids, she said.

Lamar added that the state also should stop wasting money incarcerating people for marijuana violations and divert those funds to roads, schools and healthcare. 

Republican Rep. Jeremy Faison, who previously pushed passage of medical marijuana laws, said the federal government never had a “sound justification for a naturally occurring plant” to be classified as a Schedule I drug. That made it comparable to heroin, LSD and Ecstasy. 

Nor did the federal government have a “solid basis to dictate” cannabis regulations to states, Faison said, adding the change brings a “safer, more practical” approach.

“I truly hope that this fosters medical research that either debunks what many sick Americans have testified to or provides the evidence and foundation showing that cannabis is safer than opioids and other man-altered substances,” said Faison, chairman of the House Republican Caucus.

But while the federal change is drawing bipartisan backing for new laws in Tennessee, Lt. Gov. Randy McNally said he has “no interest” in changing how the state schedules marijuana. 

McNally, an Oak Ridge Republican, pointed out that Schedule III drugs remain tightly regulated and can be dispensed only by a pharmacist at a doctor’s direction, usually for short-term use. He added that recommended dosages would have to be established and new rules set up for dispensing medical cannabis. 

“While the federal change does allow easier study and testing of the drug, I have no interest in changing how we schedule marijuana in Tennessee. In my mind it remains a dangerous drug with little demonstrated medicinal efficacy,” said McNally, who is also speaker of the Senate. 

Tennessee lawmakers who sought to pass medical marijuana laws previously ran into opposition from McNally, who said he couldn’t support a change because of the federal government’s Schedule I classification of cannabis.