Medical cannabis moves forward in Tennessee (... and is gaining momentum)

[Fly by night]

http://wpln.org/?p=17570

Medical Marijuana Study Moves Forward
In State House

Wednesday, May 12th, 2010, by Joe White
(WPLN, Nashville)

A bill to allow medical marijuana in Tennessee has gone further than ever before in the state legislature. Lawmakers are now signaling that they might be at least willing to study how it would work.

Originally, Representative Jeanne Richardson proposed allowing marijuana to be available by prescription in Tennessee. That would have made Tennessee one of only a handful of states that allow the drug to be used medically. To keep the proposal alive, Richardson changed it to require only a study of the issue, by the four state departments that would regulate such a prescription program.

"For instance, in the production, the growing of it, the Department of Agriculture would be involved, ...in terms of the security, who could do it, and who would be certified to do it.” ....

The bill goes to the House Finance Committee as early as next week. It is the furthest such a bill has ever advanced in a Tennessee General Assembly ....
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Guys,

We appear to have crossed the threshold here in Tennessee. We are now openly discussing the re-establishment of our state's medical cannabis program with all major legislative players in our House. (The Senate is another matter entirely.) We are also engaged in serious (and multiple) conversations with several state agencies that would play major roles in our proposed program. The legislators and agency heads are interested enough in our Safe Access to Medical Cannabis Act to have actually read the bill. They know and believe (as we do) that we have indeed proposed the most tightly-related medical cannabis program ever introduced in this country, and the most patient-friendly program. (We're happy to defend either of those claims with anyone.)

My heartfelt thanks to DU, and to DUers, who follow and discuss the rapidly changing world of cannabis policy. This forum has been a wonderful place to discuss the broad issues related to ending reefer madness once and for all. It has also been a place to share (and to get feedback on) our emerging plans here in Tennessee. (For those of you who aren't familiar with the program, I will copy a reasonably short description of the Safe Access program as a response below.)

I would also be happy to actually pay attention to this thread and respond to any comments/suggestions, etc.

There is wind in our medical cannabis sails here in the mid-South, folks. (And the sails are made of hemp.) We've still got a great deal of work to do, but we are definitely moving this issue forward, and to the forefront, farther than it has been in decades.

We might just help end the madness soon, and mark its passage as the idiocy that existed within our human race for the life-span of one old man. (That's how my Shoshone friends up in Wind River country count time).

Praise be the Goddess. (Now back to work.)

FBN