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CannaBeat: Cannabis Restaurant Headed for Broad Avenue

Credit: Buds & Brews

Tennessee’s first brick-and-mortar cannabis bar is slated to land in Memphis soon.

The former Bounty on Broad space will soon become a Buds & Brews location. No timeline for the opening was given in a news release.

Nashville-based Buds & Brews opened its first restaurant and bar in that city’s Germantown neighborhood in 2022. It will open a second location in East Nashville later this month. 

The restaurant allows patrons to “enjoy cannabis in a safe, legal and fun environment,” the company said in a statement. It offers a unique menu of upscale bar fare like the Buds Burger, hot chicken tacos and a Wake and Bake Brunch.  

Credit: Buds & Brews

“We are excited to bring the Buds & Brews experience to Memphis,” said Michael Solomon, owner and president of Craft Cannabis, the restaurant’s parent company. “This dynamic arts community is the perfect location for a new and innovative restaurant and bar concept.  

“We are proud to collaborate with some of the best in the food and beverage industry in order to bring Tennesseans a truly unique culinary adventure.”

Craft Cannabis is an umbrella group for three brands. Craft Cannabis offers seed-to-shelf cannabis flower grown in Nashville. That brand also offers an array of edibles like cannabis cookies, gummies, and suckers. Tri-Star Medical offers cannabis tinctures, capsules, and topicals. Sticky Tomato has a full line of gummies. 

At Buds & Brews, diners can choose their favorite condiment sauces infused with Tennessee-grown-and-extracted hemp-derived THC. The restaurant will also have a craft cocktail menu, cannabis-infused cocktails like the Smoky Margarita and Spliff Sangria, beers on tap, their own brand of THC-infused beers and New Highs seltzers, and dessert edibles.  

Bar Leafy Green was slated to become Memphis’ first cannabis restaurant. Owners announced the plan on social media in 2022. It is unclear, however, whether the restaurant ever opened.

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CannaBeat: Feds Move On Cannabis; Could Loosen Laws in Tennessee

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The White House will remove cannabis from the federal list of the country’s most dangerous drugs, according to the Associated Press, a move that could lead to looser laws in Tennessee.

In 2022, President Joe Biden promised to reevaluate cannabis’ placement on Schedule I. Schedule I is the federal government’s classification for some of the worst drugs, such as meth and heroin. These drugs are highly addictive and have no medical use, according to the government.

Biden promised cannabis reform in a statement in October 2022. It outlined three steps his adminstration would take to end what he called the government’s “failed approach” on cannabis so far. 

Back then, Biden pardoned all federal offenses of simple possession and urged governors to do the same. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee did not make any cannabis pardons.

Biden said the next step to reclassify cannabis was to check with the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Attorney General to “expeditiously” review how cannabis is scheduled under federal law. 

Those conversations went on, apparently, behind the scenes, even out of Congressional view. Last summer Congressman Steve Cohen and Congressman Matt Gaetz grilled Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram for details during a meeting of the House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee. They got very few. 

Milgram said her agency couldn’t move on the matter without word from HHS. She said DEA had not heard anything and had not even heard of a timeline for when HHS might send word. 

On Tuesday, The AP reported that DEA will move to reclassify cannabis, citing five anonymous sources. That proposal must then get the approval of the White House Office of Management and Budget and go through a public comment period. If approved, cannabis would be listed on Schedule II, alongside drugs such as ketamine. 

Tennessee lawmakers have long said they wouldn’t approve any looser laws for cannabis unless the drug was moved from Schedule I at the federal level. Despite the creation of the Tennessee Cannabis Commission years ago, a group tasked with establishing a cannabis program for Tennessee, no material changes have been made in state laws.  

State Rep. Jesse Chism (D-Memphis) said he hopes that with the reclassification ”we can start the ball rolling soon and begin having serious discussions here in Tennessee.”

“Our state has spent millions and millions of taxpayer dollars to enforce cannabis laws that are outdated and harmful to a lot of people, including many Tennesseans who are trying to get relief from painful chronic medical issues,” Chism said in a statement. “In addition to wasting those dollars, we’ve completely ignored the financial benefits that could be coming the state’s way. 

“I’ve filed several pieces of legislation ranging from allowing medical use to decriminalization to even trying to put a non-binding referendum on the ballot to hear from Tennessee’s voters. The main point of contention has always been its federal classification.  Hopefully, with this movement we can start the ball rolling soon and begin having serious discussions here in Tennessee.”

Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus Chairwoman Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) applauded the move, saying it will will have benefits for Tennesseans seeking medicinal cannabis.

“Reclassifying marijuana as a less-dangerous drug at the federal level is a historic decision, driven by common sense,” Lamar said in a statement. “Republican lawmakers have kept Tennessee in the dark ages on marijuana policy — wasting our tax dollars locking people up for a plant. While my ultimate goal is still legalization in Tennessee, this is incredible news for folks who would benefit right now from natural medical cannabis to treat chronic pain or illness.”

Cohen, a longtime advocate for cannabis reform, was frustrated by delays in the process during that Congressional hearing last year. “I’ve been here 17 years … and I’ve seen DEA heads, I’ve seen [Federal Bureau of Investigation] directors, I’ve seen attorney[s] general, exactly where you’re sitting, say governmental gibberish about marijuana. They’ve done nothing for 17 years, and for years before that. It goes back to the [1930s]. 

“The government has messed this up forever and you need to get ahead of the railroad. You’re going to get something from HHS. Biden understands [cannabis] should be reclassified. He said from [Schedule I to Schedule III] and it should be classified from [Schedule I] to 420. We ought to just clean it up and get over with it.” 

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Cannabis Flower Products At Risk With New TN Rules

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Cannabis flower products could disappear from store shelves in Tennessee next year thanks to new state rules, a threat to businesses and consumers, advocates say. 

State lawmakers passed new laws this year to regulate the growing cannabis industry in Tennessee. Some of those rules went into effect in July. For example, cannabis products are moved behind shelves of stores that aren’t 21 and up. A new, 6-percent tax on cannabis products was levied, too. 

The new law also made the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) responsible for regulating the cannabis industry here. On Monday, the department issued new rules for cannabis producers and products. 

They immediately drew the ire from the Tennessee Growers Coalition (TGC), the advocacy and lobby agency for the state’s cannabis industry. The group is now organizing its members to fight the new rules.

TGC’s executive director Kelley Hess said the new law focused only on the Delta 9 cannabinoid and said that’s how hemp is defined on the federal level. But state agriculture officials added new THC standards for THCA and CBD flower. This could pinch producers and retailers as these products are “at least 70 percent of the market right now” and “what people have been building their businesses around.”

The new rules won’t affect edible products, like gummies, she said. Those products are made with cannabis oils that can be measured, fine-tuned all along the production process, and remain stable on the shelf. Cannabinoid profiles in flower products, however, can change. 

“The organic, raw flower is what’s really at jeopardy,” Hess said. “[The TDA is] just calculating the cannabinoids differently than what we’ve been calculating them for the last five years.” 

The TDA has overseen the state’s hemp industry since 2015. However, that oversight began as an industrial hemp program, when the crop was most likely intended to make rope, concrete, and those hippy hemp pullovers. 

That changed with the federal Farm Bill and the discovery of cannabinoids that could be pulled from hemp. The word “industrial” was all but phased out and TDA teams now travel the state testing hemp plants to ensure the THC levels in them are below a federally mandated .3 percent. 

In the past, that’s where the department left it. Whatever happened to that legal hemp and its cannabinoids afterward was up to the farmer and the market. The new law now mandates TDA  to manage cannabis and an edible foods program (like gummies) from the plant all the way to the shelf. The new rules issued Monday basically outline the structure of that program. 

Hess said her group and producers across the state offered ideas for state officials for the program but they did not listen. The new THC standard, she said, is a “misinterpretation of the bill” and warned agirculture officials that “you cannot do that.” But “they still did not take that seriously.” 

Hemp growers already have to meet those strict state guidelines in the field, she said. The move cut the number of producers from around 4,000 in the state to around 400. Hess said the TDA is now trying to “copy/paste” similar rules to the product side.

“It’s another standard that these growers and producers have to meet, which is completely unrealistic and unattainable,” Hess said. “So, they can’t do it. Then, all of these products that are on the shelf now will become illegal and noncompliant. So, law enforcement can come with criminal charges. 

A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for February. That hearing comes during the next session of the Tennessee General Assembly. 

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CannaBeat: UTHSC Researchers Study Link Between Genetics and THC Effects

Principal investigators Dr. Bob Moore (left) and Dr. Megan Mulligan (right) have been awarded a $3.69 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for their study on identifying the genetic differences that influence responses to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Credit: University of Tennessee Health Science Center

Cannabis hits everyone a little differently, doesn’t it? A shared bowl of the same bud can produce varying effects in those sitting on the same couch. Why?   

That (and a whole lot more) is exactly what researchers at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) want to find out. Now armed with a $3.7 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, they’ll begin to unravel how genetic differences in animals change how tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) — the major psychoactive component in cannabis — affects them differently. 

 The study, the first of its kind, is led by Bob Moore, PhD, a professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Megan Mulligan, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Genetics, Genomics, and Informatics. Drs. Xusheng Wang, Byron Jones, and Rob Williams are assisting in the research. UTHSC provides facilities, resources, and administrative staff, and the school invested pilot-project funding.

The team wants the research to ultimately help those consuming cannabis. Do gene variants put some at risk for unwanted side effects? Can the research be used to create new cannabis-based therapies?

We caught up with Mulligan to help us better understand the project. — Toby Sells

Memphis Flyer: Can you briefly (and plainly) explain what this research project is about? 

Megan Mulligan: The goal of our research project is to identify gene variants that contribute to individual differences in the physiological response to high-dose THC. These gene variants could make individuals more or less sensitive to therapeutic or harmful effects of THC. 

To do the research, we will measure THC response in a genetically diverse population of rodents. In response to THC, both humans and rodents experience a drop in body temperature (hypothermia), reduced activity (hypolocomotion), and are less sensitive to pain or annoying stimuli (antinociception). 

Just like humans, some rodents in this population are more or less sensitive to THC. For example, some rodents may show only a slight reduction in activity when given THC, while others might not move at all. 

We can score the response of each individual in the genetic population and then identify which regions of the genome contain genetic changes that are shared by individuals with similar responses to THC. This will be the first study to identify gene variants that cause differences in response to THC. This type of study has not been done before in humans or rodents.

How did you get the idea to do this project?

Changes in regulatory policy and public attitudes towards cannabis have resulted in increased cannabis use. Recreational use is now legal in 23 states. 

At the same time the levels of THC in cannabis and derived products have tripled. On average, 3 percent in dried cannabis in the 1980s [is] up to 15 percent today and even up to 30 percent for some strains. Extracts and edibles can contain as much as 50 percent and up to 90 percent THC.

We have a very poor understanding of how individual genetic variation impacts health benefits of THC or the risk of adverse health consequences following use of high-potency products that contain large amounts of THC. 

This project was inspired by the urgent need to better understand the range of individual variation in THC response and to identify gene variants and biological signaling pathways that mediate differential sensitivity to THC.

What do you hope to find out?

Although some of the targets of THC in the body are known, we have yet to characterize all of the genes and signaling pathways impacted by THC. 

Moreover, cannabis-derived products like THC and the biological signaling pathways that respond to them are now being explored as therapeutics or therapeutic targets to treat neurodegenerative diseases, pain, metabolic disorders, drug dependence, and anxiety, to name just a few. 

At the same time, THC, especially in high doses, can have adverse health consequences. These include acute impairments in perception, memory, and motor skills, and cognitive impairments, psychosis, use disorders, withdrawal symptoms, and hyperemesis syndrome in some individuals following chronic use. 

The goal of our study is to identify the gene variants and biological signaling pathways that make individuals respond differently to THC. This information could then be used to identify individuals who might be at risk for side effects or negative health consequences of THC use or to identify signaling pathways that could be therapeutically targeted to treat pain or disease.

 How will the results change the cannabis industry, or products, or cannabis policy? What could change with your results?

Consumers need accurate information about the composition of products and potential health risks. Our study does not directly address these issues. 

It is our opinion that learning more about the targets of THC in the body and the contributions of genetic variation to THC response are part of a broader research effort to better inform the public about the risks of high-potency THC use and will ultimately contribute to changes in policy and the development of cannabis-derived therapeutic products.

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CannaBeat: New Tipsy Tabs Are Tennessee-Made “Cocktails In A Tablet”

Credit: Tipsy Tabs

A Tennessee company with ties to Memphis launched a new cannabis product this summer to help consumers “make better bad decisions.” 

Tipsy Tabs appeared in stores throughout Memphis around August. Locals may have noticed colorful signs in liquor or cannabis shops inviting them to “bite into the party” for an experience that ”feels like a cocktail in a tablet.”

The sweet, colorful, little tablets (about the size of dime) pack 25 milligrams of hemp-derived THC apiece. For this, the company suggests consumers start by taking half a tablet to start and add another half every half hour until they reach their desired euphoric effect.   

Tipsy Tabs were created as a sublingual edible, meaning they are meant to dissolve under the tongue. This method helps with the fast onset of effects, within 10 minutes the company says. But the packaging is quick to note you take a Tab however you prefer. “Bite me,” it reads. “Chew me. Suck me.”

With Tipsy Tabs, the company hopes to tap into a growing (but slow) movement away from alcohol consumption and the rise of “California sober,” indulging in cannabis but not in booze. 

The product comes from Volunteer Botanicals, based in Christiana, Tennessee, just outside Murfreesboro. But company co-founder Jason Pickle and Matt Hale, vice president of retail sales for the company, are both originally from Germantown. Volunteer Botanicals started about six years ago, Hale said, specializing in converting hemp oils into a pharmaceutical-grade powder. 

Hale told us more about Tipsy Tabs in a recent interview. — Toby Sells

Memphis Flyer: Tell me about Tipsy Tabs. 

Matt Hale: The way we look at this thing is [most] of the cannabis products on the market are, “How high can we get you? How blasted can we get you?” In the grand scheme of things, that’s a small portion of the country or that industry. 

You’ve got all these functional, working parents — yoga moms, and people like that — that don’t want to get blasted. They’re scared of a lot of these products. So, what we saw the opportunity to do was, “let’s do this on a metered format.”

If you think about a gummy, a gummy filled with sugar, it melts. It’s inconsistent. I hear it all the time: “I don’t really want to eat a gummy because one time I eat it and I don’t feel anything and then the next time I eat it and I’m blasted.” With what we do, with every one of these, you feel the same thing every time and that’s what this industry is missing.

So, just like a cocktail, [consumers can] figure out their sweet spot. It’s not guessing every time. It’s like, “I’m going to my kid’s T-ball game. So, I’m going to pop half of one of these and I’m just going to relax.” Or, if you want to go out and party, eat two or three of them and — just like a cocktail — the more you drink, the more you feel.

How long has Tipsy Tabs been on the market?

We launched the product a little over a month ago. It’s blowing up! It’s just a great product. 

Where can you get Tipsy Tabs?

We are in about 15 stores in Memphis and growing everyday. We’re in discussions with a big distributor out of Nashville. We’re in the Carolinas. We’re in Texas. We’re in Georgia. And it’s just gong to keep growing. 

Anything you want to add?

A lot of people are intimidated by [cannabis products]. Tipsy Tabs gives them a chance to to dip their feet in the water and actually try something without taking it too far.  

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CannaBeat: Congress Grills DEA on Cannabis Re-Classification Timeline

Photo by Jeff W on Unsplash

Last year, President Joe Biden promised to reevaluate cannabis’ placement on Schedule I. On Thursday, two frustrated Congressmen wanted to know what is taking so long. 

Schedule I is the federal government’s classification for some of the worst drugs like meth and heroin. These drugs are highly addictive and have no medical use, according to the government.

Biden promised cannabis reform in a statement in October. It outlined three steps his adminstration would take to end what he called the government’s “failed approach” on cannabis so far. 

With a stroke of a pen, he pardoned all federal offenses of simple possession and urged governors to do the same. (Tennessee Governor Bill Lee did not even consider making these pardons here.) Biden’s third step was to ask the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Attorney General to “expeditiously” review how cannabis is scheduled under federal law. 

“Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances,” Biden wrote in the statement. “This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine — the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic.”

No word has yet emerged from the adminstration on the re-classification of cannabis. On Thursday, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz grilled Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Administrator Anne Milgram for details during a meeting of the House Judiciary Crime and Federal Government Surveillance Subcommittee. They got very few. 

Milgram said her agency cannot move on the matter without word from HHS. She said DEA has not heard anything and had not even heard of a timeline for when HHS might send word. 

“Well, that’s unsettling, isn’t it?” Gaetz asked Milgram. “When you don’t even know a timeline, it doesn’t really make it seem like something’s front of mind.”

Gaetz asked Milgram to encourage HHS for a timeline on the re-classification of cannabis and she agreed she would. 

Should HHS recommend removing cannabis from Schedule I, that would trigger a DEA review. That review could be lengthy. The agency considers eight factors in the process, including potential for abuse, public health risks, dependency risks, and more. From there, the DEA would also allow for a public comment period on re-classifiying cannabis. Then, a decision would be made.

The unknown length of this process could push a decision past next year’s presidential election and that could send removing cannabis from the Schedule I back to the drawing board. 

Keeping cannabis on Schedule I means Tennessee won’t likely see any sort of cannabis reform. Lawmakers here have said no reforms will (or should) happen unless the drug is re-classified on the federal level. The law that created the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission, for example, is predicated on this fact. That means, Tennesseans should not expect medical cannabis — or any other kind — until the drug is moved on the federal level.  

Cohen, a longtime advocate for cannabis reform, was clearly frustrated by the delay Thursday. 

“I’ve been here 17 years … and I’ve seen DEA heads, I’ve seen [Federal Bureau of Investigation] directors, I’ve seen attorney[s] general, exactly where you’re sitting and say governmental gibberish about marijuana. They’ve done nothing for 17 years, and for years before that. It goes back to the [1930s]. 

“The government has messed this up forever and you need to get ahead of the railroad. You’re going to get something from HHS. Biden understands [cannabis] should be reclassified. He said from [Schedule I to Schedule III] and it should be classified from [Schedule I] to 420. We ought to just clean it up and get over with it.” 

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New Bill Would Decriminalize Cannabis Across Tennessee

Photo by Jeff W on Unsplash

A new bill would decriminalize cannabis across the state.

The bill would lower simple posession to a $25 fine or three hours of community service. It would raise the felony amount for manufacture, delivery, or sale from a half ounce to one ounce.

It removes references of “marijuana, marijuana concentrates, and marijuana oil from the definition of drug paraphernalia.” It renames items used to ingest, inhale, prepare, or store cannabis as a “marijuana accessory.”

The wide-ranging bill would lower costs on local governments by nearly $15 million per year, according to a financial review of the bill conducted by the Tennessee General Assembly’s Fiscal Review Committee.

The committee said the figure is based on removing the roughly 17,101 annual simple-possession cannabis convictions across the state. The committee multiplied that number by 15, the average days of stay for those charged, by $58.21, the average daily cost of jailing such a person.

The math is more complicated to calculate how much money would be saved from lowering charges on manufacture, sale, and delivery. But the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) told the review office the state averages 137.8 admissions a year based on these charges. The office calculated the new legislation would lower that figure to an average of 20.76 prison admissions of these kinds annually.

The bill would increase state spending by $100,000 to create a new drug awareness program and by $30,000 each year to support the program.

The new simple possession definition would allow Tennesseans to carry up to one ounce of cannabis, up to five grams of resin extracted from cannabis, and infused products containing up to 1,000 milligrams of THC. Simple possession would become a civil violation and would not subject an offender to arrest. Offenders could pay a $25 fine or serve three hours of community service. Minor offenders would have to serve up to five hours of community service.

The bill also limits probable cause.

“This bill specifies that the odor of marijuana generally does not constitute reasonable suspicion or probable cause but a law enforcement officer may test for impairment based on the odor of marijuana if the officer reasonably suspects the operator of a motor vehicle or boat to be under the influence of marijuana,” reads the bill.

The bill will not allow officials to revoke someone’s bail, parole, probation, or suspended sentence based solely on a positive drug test for cannabis. The review committee said TDOC told them doing this would not have any significant fiscal impact.

The bill would also prohibit officials from removing someone from public assistance programs just for having a positive cannabis test. According to the Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS), doing this would not significantly impact the total number of those eligible for programs like Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF). TennCare said the legislation would have no fiscal impact on any TennCare programs.

Under the legislation, a positive test would also not be grounds for any adverse employment action against a government employee.

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CannaBeat: New Bill Would Change the Way You Buy Cannabis in Tennessee

Credit: Toby Sells

Anxiety ripples through the Tennessee cannabis industry when state lawmakers get involved but a new bill this year could put the business on more solid footing here, leaders said. 

Industry opposition lined up against a bill during last year’s session of the Tennessee General Assembly. That bill threatened to ban all hemp-derived THC products like Delta 8 gummies if they contained more than 0.3 percent of THC on a dry weight basis, which was (and is) already the federal legal limit for such products. 

Lawmakers explained that the bill was really an effort to regulate these products in Tennessee. At the time, they described a marketplace with no limits on THC in products and no packaging requirements to alert consumers. 

A bill filed this year will do just this. Cannabis professionals said they worked with lawmakers on the regulations and believe it “will sustain a safe, legal marketplace for these products well into the future,” according to a blog post by Cultivate Tennessee, a hemp advocacy group. 

The new framework does not redefine hemp. It does not ban any products. It does not change how hemp professionals get licenses to grow or sell hemp here. 

The bill sets the buying age to 21. It outlaws driving vehicles under the influence of cannabis. It also adds a 5 percent privilege tax on product sales on top of local and state taxes.  

The bill limits the amount of THC in a product to 25 milligrams. It also mandates all products available for sale in Tennessee to be tested after being manufactured for cannabinoids and any toxic materials. 

 “[Consumers] are going to notice that products are most likely going to be behind the counter and having to show an ID to purchase,” said Devin Aracena, co-owner of Canvast, a Nashville-based cannabis company and co-chair of Cultivate Tennessee. “They’re going to notice a lot of packaging updates on products. They’ll see child-resistant packaging updates on products and clearly stated potency.

“They’ll notice a different dosage. So, there would no longer be edibles that are over 25 milligrams per serving.”

Meticulous testing of products has always been a foundation for Gold Spectrum CBD, an East Tennessee company that grows cannabis, makes products, and sells it online and at its franchise retail stores called the Smoky Grass Station. Company founder Zack Green said the new bill would up restrictions and require everything to be registered with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, something not done now. The move could help remove some fly-by-night operators in the space, he said.   

“There’s a lot of people that have gotten into this industry because they think of it as the ‘Green Rush,’ the next Gold Rush,” Green said. “They’re trying to quickly make a dollar and get out. … They try to cut costs and do everything as cheaply as possible and are not as quality conscious as we would like for them to be.”

Cheaper oils in the marketplace might have pesticides in them, he said, and might not be backed with certificates showing they’ve been properly analyzed. Some of the facilities might not be accredited or inspected by a lab certified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). 

Doing all of this is expensive, Green said, and some companies operating in Tennessee are “flying under the radar.” Without taking the necessary steps could put consumers at risk. 

Aracena said the bill is a “great first step,” especially to create trust between the industry and lawmakers. 

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Cannabeat: Tenne-Snooze

It’s slow going on Tennessee’s cannabis legalization front. (Photo: Dmitry Tishchenko | Dreamstime.com)

Tennessee state law will not allow any more cannabis legalization here until the federal government moves, which may happen soon-ish (more on that below). But until then, don’t expect Tennessee cannabis news to be very exciting.

Consider the sober, sometimes droning, sometimes arduous December 1st meeting of the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission. That group was established by the Tennessee General Assembly in May 2021 to study “federal and state laws regarding medical cannabis and the preparation of legislation to establish an effective, patient-focused medical cannabis program in this state” but only if the drug was removed from the federal Schedule I.

In its first report, published in January, the commission offered the legislature at least some recommendations on potential laws for such a program here. Back then, some hints were available at even just the prospect of new legalization laws that might pull the commission from the sidelines.

But those proposals came and went. And while Tennessee shelved any action on cannabis, every state that borders it has enacted some sort of legalization effort. So, instead of laying solid groundwork for a Tennessee program, the cannabis commission has quietly studied, and studied, and studied, and watched the growing pains other states have experienced while starting and building their own programs.

The commission is slated to meet this week to finalize its second report to the legislature. So sleepy is the material for the report this year, commission members spent much of its early December meeting trying to jazz it up to get the attention of lawmakers.

Commissioner Cari Parker said lawmakers should be handed a one-pager because that’s “the attention span we have to plan for to at least incite a little bit of interest.” Ray Marcrom, a pharmacist, said he does not want lawmakers to get the report and say, “‘Well, that’s nice.’ Because that’s kind of what we got last year.”

Two facts stuck out from the commission’s meeting, though. One was the reminder that Tennessee has, indeed, stuck the tiniest toe past federal cannabis laws, as it allows products with 0.9 percent THC, instead of the federal 0.3 percent. Another is that there is a desire from lawmakers and businesses to keep hemp-derived THC products (like Delta 8) separate from any medical cannabis program here and be regulated from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture.

On the federal side of cannabis news, though, things got pretty hot this year. Joe Biden, the president of the United States, said words every college sophomore (of a certain stripe) has wanted to hear a global leader to say:

“No one should be in jail just for using or possessing marijuana,” Biden said in an October statement. “Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit.”

Biden then outlined three steps in a plan to “end this failed approach” to cannabis law in the U.S. First, he pardoned all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana. Second, he urged all governors to do the same with regard to state offenses. (Guess what Tennessee Governor said no to this. Hint: It rhymes with Bill Lee.)

Biden also asked the secretary of health and human services and the attorney general to review cannabis’ place in federal law. Now, as Biden said, it is up there with “the most dangerous substances” like “heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine — the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic.”

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CannaBeat: Arkansas Recreational Pot Issue Gets Support, Faces Headwinds, Ahead of Tomorrow’s Election

Credit: Toby Sells

Two Tennessee District Attorneys General — a Democrat and a Republican — asked Arkansas voters to approve a ballot initiative for recreational cannabis Tuesday.

Arkansas Issue 4 would amend the state constitution to allow adults to possess and use cannabis in the state. If approved owning and selling cannabis would be remain illegal under federal law, but the law would allow licensed dispensaries to sell cannabis to adults beginning in March 2023.  

Ahead of the vote, Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy, a Democrat, and  Republican DA Frederick Agee, of the 28th Judicial District (Crockett, Gibson, and Haywood Counties) issued a joint statement in support of Issue 4.

We need to stop wasting time prosecuting marijuana, which is no more dangerous than alcohol, and refocus on violent crime.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy

“We need to stop wasting time prosecuting marijuana, which is no more dangerous than alcohol, and refocus on violent crime,” Mulroy said. “That’s true on both sides of the border, which people cross in both directions daily. This could also make things easier for persons with medical needs in West Tennessee, where medical marijuana remains illegal.”

Agee said Arkansas voters have ”an opportunity to right a wrong by voting to end marijuana prohibition which has been an utter failure for over 50 years in our country.” 

“Marijuana prohibition much like alcohol prohibition has destroyed lives and ripped families apart particularly in communities of color,” Agee said. “It’s simply bad policy for our states and federal government to continue wasting taxpayer resources trying to defeat a plant. 

It’s simply bad policy for our states and federal government to continue wasting taxpayer resources trying to defeat a plant.

28th Judicial District Attorney Frederick Agee

“Common sense regulation works and prohibition doesn’t. Vote to legalize recreational marijuana in Arkansas.”

The issue earned support from PGA pro golfer Jon Daly in a tweet earlier this month in which he said cannabis has been legalized for recreation ”in 19 states and the sky didn’t fall.”

However, the issue seems to be facing headwinds. University of Arkansas researchers found that 59 percent of those polled in its annual Arkansas Poll opposed recreational cannabis and only 41 supported it. 

University of Arkansas