Republican-Led Medical Marijuana Bill Returning To Tennessee Legislature

A pair of Republican lawmakers will be making another go at legalizing medical marijuana in Tennessee.

Sen. Steve Dickerson, a Nashville doctor, and Rep. Jeremy Faison of East Tennessee say they’ll unveil details of the plan next week.

The two have argued for the past few years that marijuana can help people with chronic and terminal conditions manage pain. This fall, Rep. Faison took what he described as a fact-finding trip to meet with Tennessee veterans with chronic pain who’ve moved to Colorado, posting Facebook updates along the way.

Related:
Tennessee Lawmaker Heads To Colorado In An Effort To Promote Medical Marijuana

“Because we’ve taken opiates to a lab and perverted them in such a way that it’ll make you rob from your own mom and steal from your family and do all kinds of crazy things. That’s ok?” Faison said in one video while waiting in the airport. “But a plant that God gave us, that doesn’t have near the side effects or the ability to get you addicted, that’s not ok. So I have great questions.”

Faison and Dickerson have faced opposition from law enforcement groups and Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration. Foes say patients can get the same benefits from pharmaceuticals and making marijuana available, even for medical reasons, would lead to abuse.