A state lawmaker in Tennessee recently stated that the COVID-19 crisis has “increased the need for medical cannabis” in her state.
In a recent statement, Senator Janice Bowling said the “finishing touches” are being put on a bill before it is filed for the next legislative session in January 2021. “Medical cannabis has been researched. Formulations have been determined over the last 50 years,” she told News 2. “This is not something new. This is something new to be legal in Tennessee.” Both medical and recreational cannabis bills were introduced in 2020. Most recently, a medical cannabis bill passed in the Senate Health and Welfare committee.
“During COVID, people are becoming more take charge regarding their health,” Bowling said. “I am very concerned that people in Tennessee need access to this legitimate medical choice.”
Bowling has been an advocate for medical cannabis as a way to combat the opioid crisis. Some Tennessee lawmakers, including Governor Bill Lee, aren’t completely sold on medical cannabis even though polls show a majority of voters in Tennessee are in favor of legalizing. “We’re up to 43 states that have legalized it and many of the states around us have legalized it,” Bowling said. “We are being foolish in the worst sense of the word. Just incredibly foolish and incredibly lacking in responsiveness to what is now readily available for people to know that this is a safe medicine solution.”
The Tennessee Cannabis Coalition doesn’t believe medical research from COVID-19 is enough to change the opinions of some lawmakers. Tennessee Cannabis Coalition founder, Cecily Friday, believes it would take federal legalization to sway Lee. “Hopefully we will eventually get to a point that we have movement at the federal level and they will no longer be able to ignore the will of their constituents,” Friday said.
