MEMPHIS, Tennessee — In Wednesday’s Ransom Note: you can forget about medical marijuana in Tennessee, at least this year.
For a minute, it looked like a measure to decriminalize medical marijuana might pass. It was gaining momentum with bipartisan support only to barely fail by a vote of 9-8 in a house committee Tuesday.
The bill's sponsor isn’t willing to throw in the towel just yet, but Representative Bryan Terry says the measure’s never gone this far in Tennessee, so he’s encouraged next year may be the year.
Why don't we just have a referendum? Arkansas and Mississippi did, and they easily passed. Unfortunately, Tennesseans can't do that on their own. Lawmakers have to agree first, and they don't do that very often. The science shows that for almost a dozen debilitating illnesses, medical marijuana does as good --or better-- than anything else a doctor can prescribe. It's time to give doctors that option.
Join the conversation by email (rransom@localmemphis.com), Facebook, or Twitter.