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Bill to Possibly Ban Hemp-Derived THC Products Advances in House, Senate

Photo by Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash. Olofsson manages the CBD Oracle blog at cbdoracle.com.

State lawmakers and cannabis industry representatives began working out details of a bill that would regulate products here made with hemp-derived THC.

As it is written now, the bill would would ban the sale or possession of products that contain Delta 8, HHC, THC-O, and any others that have a THC concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, which is already the federal legal limit for such products. 

The bill is sponsored by state Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland) and Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville). Both bills moved ahead Wednesday in the legislative process with positive votes from a House Criminal Justice subcommittee and the Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee.   

A recent fiscal review of the proposal says retailers would stop selling the products, costing state and local tax coffers $4.8 million in the next fiscal year and $1.9 million in the years following. The Tennessee Department of Corrections projected that felony incarcerations would rise by one each year if the bill was passed, adding $2,900 in state costs per year.

In Wednesday’s hearing, Rep. Lamberth said there are no regulations on these products, including the Delta 8 gummies that are widely available, and there are no packaging requirements on these products. He said 115 people overdosed on these products, specifically Delta 8 products, last year because they contain “extraordinarily” high levels of THC, and 30 percent of those people were under the age of five.   

The state and federal laws already set THC levels at 0.3 percent in these products. But products with higher concentrations are “being sold all over Tennessee. So, we must not have made it clear enough when we passed this before.” For all of this and more, Lamberth said he wants to clear up confusion on the issue for business owners and consumers. 

There needs to be a specific, consistent expectation for customers of this product.

Rep. William Lamberth (R-Portland)

”This needs to be a clear cut line,” Lamberth said. “There needs to be a specific, consistent expectation for customers of this product. I have heard from folks that said, ‘Well, look, I was buying this product from this retailer and it had this effect. Then, I switched to this one over here and it had a drastically different effect.’

“Again, there’s no standards here. This needs to be clear cut as to what is and is not legal and what exactly is on the shelves.”

Tennessee cannabis company owners testified before the committee Wednesday, with many arguing that the issue needs a scalpel while Lamberth’s bill was a blunt instrument. If the bill were to be passed as it is now, it would constitute a ban on these products, and cost many their livelihoods. 

Debate on the issue was calm and level-headed Wednesday. Lamberth said before the vote that while the bill was likely to pass out of Wednesday’s subcommittee, it will be up for debate and for testimony in other committees, and, perhaps, a final debate on the House floor. He invited all of the leaders from the cannabis companies to his office to speak about the bill as it progresses.   

“Quite frankly, there’s not as much daylight between where I am and where you guys are,” Lamberth said, speaking to the company representatives. “It’s just a matter of figuring that out.” 

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State Bill Threatens Hemp-Derived THC (Like Your Delta 8 Gummies) in Tennessee

Photo by Elsa Olofsson on Unsplash. Olofsson manages the CBD Oracle blog at cbdoracle.com.

State lawmakers will review a bill Wednesday that threatens a number of hemp-derived THC product sales in Tennessee, would slightly increase felony incarcerations, and would cost the state millions of dollars.

The bill seems to tackle the thorny issue of federally legal, hemp-derived THC products like Delta 8, HHC, and THC-O in Tennessee. It would ban the sale or possession of such products that have a THC concentration of more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, which is already the federal legal limit for such products.

The bill, sponsored by Republicans in the House and Senate, would redefine hemp products with more than the federally legal limit as “marijuana,” according to an official review of the bill. This would make selling or possessing these products criminal offenses equal to marijuana in state law.

The Farm Bill was updated in 2018 to clarify the main difference between hemp and “marihuana,” as it is spelled in federal law. It says marijuana does not include hemp. Hemp has a dry-weight THC concentration of less than .3 percent. Marijuana contains more than that.

HB-1927-AmendedDownload

The review of the bill from the Tennessee General Assembly Fiscal Review Committee is built on a set of assumptions. It says such products are unregulated at the state and federal level. Sales of the products are assumed to be due to psychoactive effects of the cannabinoids found in them.

Also, products sold here are “assumed to significantly exceed the concentration threshold of 0.3 percent.” Finally, “it is assumed that the majority of retailers who currently sell such products will cease sale of such products across the state, rather than risk criminal penalties.”

If retailers stopped selling these products, state and local taxes would decrease by more than $4.8 million in the next fiscal year and about $1.9 million in following years, according to the review. These figures are based on a study from the Brightfield Group, a hemp market study firm. Tennessee sales of the products targeted by the legislation were about $4.7 million in 2020, according to the study. State researchers valued the overall market for the products in question at $73.4 million in Tennessee.

As for felonies, the Tennessee Department of Corrections told state researchers that an average of 6.6 Class C felons have been admitted to its system each year for the last 10 years. That figure would increase by one under the new legislation, according to the review. With this, incarceration costs would rise by $2,900 annually under the legislation.

For this and more, the Tennessee Growers Coalition, a political action committee that supports hemp-friendly politicians, told its supporters on Facebook this week that “we must organize to oppose” the bill.

“This is to all but make [Delta 8] and all other hemp-derived THCs illegal, re-criminalizing what is now legal under state and federal law,” reads the post. “Please act on this. Not the time to remain on the sidelines or be apolitical. This is your livelihood.”

The state House Criminal Justice Subcommittee is slated to review the bill Wednesday.

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Bar Leafy Green Scheduled to Become City’s First “Canna Bar”

Credit: Bar Leafy Green/Facebook

Memphis’ first cannabis bar is readying to open, promising drinks and products infused with CBD and THCV (what some call “diet weed”).

Bar Leafy Green “South Bluff” is planned for 6 West G.E. Patterson in the South Main district, close to the corner of Front Street. No firm timeline was given for the date of the bar’s opening in the news release. But when it does, Bar Leafy Green will be open daily from 2 p.m.-7 p.m.

The bar will feature, ”infused mocktails,” including Strawberry Jasper, Peach Crystal, Mango Opal, and more. Bar Leafy Green will also offer “snacks and a rotating list of fun activities: live music, comedy, speed dating, bingo, spades tournament, movie nights, paint and sip, and much more!”   

”I want our locations to be warm, welcoming safe places for people to gather and create memorable canna experiences, learn all about canna effectiveness through our canna and community engagement and education,” said Bar Leafy Green founder Effren Bledsoe.  

The new bar is described as a place to “choose your mood and your journey.” It’ll be a “safe place to consume our premium products,” a “true Mid-South canna bar,” and a neighborhood gathering place.” 

The company is also planning to open a location in Jackson, Tennessee called (Green) Spa by Bar Leafy Green. 

Bar Leafy Green claims to be “Tennessee’s first canna bar.” But it’ll have to battle Buds & Brews for the title. That restaurant and bar is planned to open in Nashville’s Germantown neighborhood sometime this spring. There are not many details at Buds & Brews’ website, except that restaurant will feature ”a menu of upscale bar fare paired with our own line of delicious cannabis infused condiments.” The restaurant will also serve products from Craft Cannabis, a Nashville-based company.    

TVA Re-clarifies Its Mississippi Position

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) said, again, this week that it will continue to provide power to all of its customers in Mississippi, even those in the cannabis business, but said it’s still checking in with the feds about it. 

Last month, TVA said it was unsure if providing power to cannabis businesses violated federal law. Cannabis is illegal on the federal level, on the scale with heroin and meth. So, when Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed the state’s medical cannabis program into law in February, TVA said it wanted to see if there was a conflict with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). 

In response, Brandon Presley, Mississippi’s Public Service Commissioner, said cannabis businesses should be treated like any other. Presley said TVA’s authority ends when it delivers power to a local utility. He noted, too, that TVA’s questions had “caused some medical marijuana facilities to look at other areas of the state and therefore possibly denying North Mississippians the benefits of the newly passed medical marijuana program.” 

In a latter to Presley on Monday, February 28th, TVA general counsel David Fountain said, again, power would continue to flow to all customers in Mississippi, with the following caveat:

“TVA respects the role of state governments, and the democratic will of their voters, in making decisions regarding state law,” Fountain said. “However, as a federal agency, TVA is required to adhere to federal law and regulations.”

As for Presley’s concern on losing business, Fountain wrote, “we recognize the opportunities for economic development that the new law presents in northern Mississippi. As we receive additional guidance from the appropriate federal agencies, we will share more insight and information.”

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TVA Clarifies Mississippi Cannabis Question

Photo by Add Weed on Unsplash

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) clarified Thursday that it will continue to provide electricity to customers in Mississippi, even if they’re growing cannabis. 

Mississippi voters approved a medical marijuana program for the state in a ballot initiative in 2020. A court ruling threatened to overturn the will of the voters last year, but Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves signed the bill into law earlier this month with restrictions that limited amounts of cannabis patients could buy. 

Days after Reeves signed the bill, TVA asked the federal government for guidance on delivering power to cannabis companies, according to Tupelo’s Daily Journal newspaper. Cannabis remains illegal on the federal level, listed on the government’s Schedule I category along with heroin, peyote, and meth. The utility said it wanted to ensure it was not breaking a federal law by supplying power to cannabis growers.   

But TVA officials said Thursday the company has an obligation to deliver the power. 

“There will be no interruption in service because of this newly signed law.”

Tennessee Valley Authority

”We want to be clear about TVA’s position on the implications to our energy service to Mississippi customers: TVA has an obligation to serve our customers with safe, reliable, low-cost energy and we will continue to do so,” reads the statement. “There will be no interruption in service because of this newly signed law.

“The broader issue is a complex one and represents a conflict between state and federal law. We are looking to the appropriate federal agencies for further clarification and have requested additional guidance.

”Our service to our customers remains unchanged and we will continue to carry out our mission.”

“TVA’s statement has already caused some medical marijuana facilities to look at other areas of the state and therefore possibly denying North Mississippians the benefits of the newly passed medical marijuana program.”

Brandon Presley, Mississippi’s Public Service Commissioner

Confusion over TVA’s response and clarification was loud enough to merit a statement from Brandon Presley, Mississippi’s Public Service Commissioner. 

“TVA’s statement has already caused some medical marijuana facilities to look at other areas of the state and therefore possibly denying North Mississippians the benefits of the newly passed medical marijuana program,” Presley said in a statement posted to Twitter Thursday. “It is a long-held principle in state law that electric utilities have an obligation to serve customers without discrimination. 

“A licensed medical marijuana facility under Mississippi law is no different. It is my position that any licensed medical marijuana facility should be served with electricity upon application and request.

“Once power is delivered by the TVA to a local utility, TVA’s oversight ends and controlling state law and Public Service Commission statutes ensure that these facilities should be served with electricity like any other licensed business.”

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CannaBeat: Federal Cannabis Reform May Pave the Way for Tennessee

Credit: Toby Sells

Cannabis reform in Tennessee can’t clear one big hurdle, but that hurdle has a shot at being removed this year.

Lawmakers here haven’t been able to pull the trigger on reform, as so many other states have, because the drug is listed on the federal government’s Schedule I. This puts cannabis on the same list as heroin, LSD, meth, and peyote. This designation seems to scare the bejeezus out of Tennessee lawmakers for fear the feds might begin cannabis enforcement once again.

It does seem the state is moving toward reform. The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission began its work late last year, hammering out some details of what such a program here might look like. However, the bill that created that group states clearly that Tennessee will not move forward with any cannabis reform until the federal government removes the drug from the Schedule I.

However, there is a cannabis bill already filed for the Tennessee General Assembly’s next regular session. In July, state Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-Paris) filed legislation that, if approved, would ask Tennesseans what they think about legalizing marijuana with a nonbinding poll question in 2022 elections. The bill, though, was panned by many as doing too little for any actual reform.

“This is the type of bill you introduce when you don’t have the courage, as a legislator or a party, to just do what’s right,” tweeted state Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-Nashville) at the time.

But Congress cracked the door on reform last year, offering some hope of removing that federal hurdle on reforms here. In September, the House Judiciary Committee passed the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, which would remove the drug from the controlled substances list, expunge nonviolent cannabis convictions, and more.

While this move has support from Democrats, a Republican effort was announced in November. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) filed the States Reform Act. The bill would remove cannabis from the Schedule I and provide states a framework for reform working with their unique laws.

“The States Reform Act takes special care to keep Americans and their children safe while ending federal interference with state cannabis laws,” Mace said at the time.

In April, Virginia became the first state in the South to legalize cannabis for all adult use, medical or recreational. The new law sets the path for legal cannabis sales to begin there in 2024. Also, New Hampshire lawmakers approved recreational cannabis reform earlier this year.

In Europe, Malta lawmakers turned heads when they legalized cannabis with nationwide legislation, becoming the first European Union country to do so. German lawmakers promised cannabis legalization in December after such proposals had been blocked for years.

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CannaBeat: Tearful Testimony Before Cannabis Commission

T. J. Ramsey went swimming this summer. 

That’s no small feat for the Nashville-area fourth grader. He cannot walk and has cerebral palsy that gives him epileptic seizures. Doctors removed a medical tube from Ramsey this summer, too. His mother, Holly, told lawmakers Friday that “life is so much better.” Then, she began to cry.     

“If I would have known that, I would have moved,” Holly Ramsey said, fighting back tears. “I did not know that [medical cannabis] would make it that much better for him.”

Holly and T.J. Ramsey testified Friday before the second meeting of the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission. Holly Ramsey has been advocating for medical cannabis legalization in Tennessee as early as 2019. 

Two years before that, according to a News Channel 5 story at the time, Holly Ramsey began giving her son CBD and saw dramatic improvements she was not seeing from the various medications he was taking. 

Holly and T.J. spoke to the state House committee in this year’s legislative session as they debated legalizing medical cannabis in Tennessee. The Tennessee General Assembly and Gov. Bill Lee cracked the door on cannabis here with a law that legalized a small amount of THC to be sold to qualifying medical patients, and established the Tennessee Cannabis Commission. 

That board is now setting up what Tennessee’s cannabis program will look like. However, the program, according to the law that established the commission, will not be active until the federal government removes cannabis from the Schedule I. That category is home to drugs with no medical use, according to the government, and high potential for abuse. Cannabis is there alongside heroine, ecstasy, LSD, and peyote. 

Ramsey argued the medical cannabis she gets for her son does have a medical use. His seizures — once up to 30 per day — have fallen into the single digits. When she first tried cannabis for T.J., he did not have a seizure for two weeks; “it was amazing,” she said. 

When asked what she wanted from state officials, her message Friday was simple, “we need to have medical cannabis in this state.”

I have to break federal law to get meds for my son.

Holly Ramsey

“I have to break federal law to get meds for my son,” Ramsey said and held up a clear plastic bag of what looked like red candy.    

 “I live in Brentwood and can get Delta 8 gummies at [stores] all over town but the state won’t let me get meds for my child that doesn’t look good, doesn’t taste good, and doesn’t get anybody high.

“We should not have to drive hours to get meds. We need to have [medical cannabis] in this state.”

Commission board members got to work Friday to fill the role of the commission’s executive director. So far, about 65 people have applied. Five candidates are at the top of the list after a review of the applications from state staffers. However, commission members asked to re-post the position and, perhaps, widen the net of applicants. The posting will close at the end of the year. 

The budget for the executive director’s salary is now $88,788 with a benefits package just north of $21,000, for a total of about $109,000.  

The commission is also due to report to the Tennessee General Assembly in January. That report will likely inform votes on passing cannabis legalization laws in the 2022 session. 

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INFOGRAPHIC: Arkansas Marijuana Sales Top $163M

Arkansas mariuana sales
Infogram

INFOGRAPHIC: Arkansas Marijuana Sales Top $163M

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CannaBeat: Arkansas Sales Top $86M in First Year

If you’ve ever been standing near the river and could just swear a cloud of ganja was rolling over from Arkansas, you may have been right.

Sales of medical cannabis began in in May 2019. In the first two weeks of sales, Arkansas patients bought about 50 pounds of Banana Kush, Pineapple Trainwreck, and dozens of other strains. In the first week, medical cannabis sales in Arkansas were $353,802.

A little more than a year later, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission said the state’s 22 dispensaries have sold about 14,000 pounds of cannabis with sales that just surpassed $86 million. Over the year, daily statewide sales have averaged $517,000 over the last three weeks.

Here’s the commission’s total breakdown of the sales as of June 1st:

• Since Suite 443 (Hot Springs) first opened on Friday, May 10th, the company sold 689.10 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Green Springs Medical (Hot Springs) first opened on Sunday, May 12th, the company sold 2,545.45 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Arkansas Natural Products (Clinton) first opened on Thursday, June 20th, the company sold 357.38 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Greenlight Dispensary (Helena) first opened on Thursday, June 27th, the company sold 389.40 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Native Green Wellness (Hensley) first opened on Tuesday, July 2nd, the company sold 989.50 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Fiddler’s Green (Mountain View) first opened on Thursday, July 11th, the company sold 939.43 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since the Releaf Center (Bentonville) first opened on Wednesday, August 7th, the company sold 1,527.07 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since The Source (Bentonville) first opened on Thursday, August 15th, the company sold 1,079.18 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Acanza (Fayetteville) first opened on Saturday, September 14th, the company sold 1,116.31 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Harvest (Conway) first opened on Friday, October 11th, the company sold 958.82 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Purspirit Cannabis (Fayetteville) opened on Wednesday, November 20th, the company sold 600.38 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since NEA Full Spectrum (Brookland) opened on Monday, December 9th, the company sold 607.72 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since 420 Dispensary (Russellville) opened on Tuesday, December 17th, the company sold 240.93 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Fort Cannabis (Fort Smith) opened on Wednesday, December 18th, the company sold 511.50 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Red River Remedy (Texarkana) opened on Friday, January 10th (2020), the company sold 162.59 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Bloom Medicinals (Texarkana) opened on Wednesday, January 15th (2020), the company sold 46.69 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Plant Family Therapeutics (Mountain Home) opened on Monday, February 3rd (2020), the company sold 395.87 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Little Rock House of Cannabis (Little Rock) opened on Friday, February 14th (2020), the company sold 131.39 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Herbology (Little Rock) opened on Wednesday, February 26th (2020), the company sold 54.04 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Custom Cannabis (Alexander) opened on Thursday, March 5th (2020), the company sold 96.84 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Natural Relief Dispensary (Sherwood) opened on March 17th (2020), the company sold 354.97 pounds of medical marijuana.

• Since Body and Mind Dispensary (formerly Comprehensive Care Group in West Memphis) opened on April 27th (2020), the company sold 21.98 pounds of medical marijuana.

Combined, this is more than 13,816 pounds of medical marijuana and $86.38 million in total sales.

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CannaBeat: Tennessee’s Medical Cannabis Bill Stymied by Coronavirus

All right, we know there are bigger fish to fry at the moment than cannabis. (Well, unless some dank nugs can defeat coronavirus. Wait. Has anybody even thought of that yet?! Oooh. Well, remember you heard it thought of here first.)

The Tennessee General Assembly has decided to skedaddle this year after they get the budget done. Totally understand. Everyone needs to do their part to help stop this awful virus and let us get back to normal (well, normal-ish, I guess).

Anyhow, legislators are going to leave a ton of legislation in limbo when they leave. That’s good and bad, I guess, depending on where you sit. But one big piece of legislation that probably won’t see action until 2021 is a bill that would have legalized medical marijuana in Tennessee.

Last Wednesday, a bill by Rep. Steven Dickerson (R-Nashville) won a crucial up-vote by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee. Called the Tennessee Clinical Cannabis Authorization and Research Act, the bill “legalizes and decriminalizes the possession, consumption, cultivation, processing, purchase, transportation, and sale of medical cannabis and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant to any qualifying patient who has been assessed by a medical care practitioner as having a debilitating medical condition and has successfully applied for a medical registry identification card.”

That was a mouthful. But it does a couple of simple things. It legalizes medical marijuana in Tennessee. It allows for the sale of “sprays intended for sublingual [under the tongue] or buccal [between the cheek and gum] administration, capsules, pills, suppositories, transdermal patches, ointments, lotions, lozenges, tinctures, oils, and liquids.” But it does not allow for the sale of “vape or vaporization pens or cartridges, atomization, nebulization, gummies, candy, candy bars, or products in a form that a reasonable person would consider as marketed or appealing to children.”

That last part about “appealing to children” includes flower product. So you won’t find raw buds or pre-rolls in any store if this bill is passed. Womp. Womp. But you take what you can get, right?

So, who qualifies for medical cannabis here if the legislature picks it back up next year? Well, it’d be considered medicine, of course. So, the bill now allows for patients with a range of maladies like cancer, HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C, post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell disease, chronic pain, muscle spasms, seizures, and a raft of other disorders “that interfere with mental health.”

The rest of the bill is aimed at organizing the Tennessee Clinical Cannabis Commission to oversee medical cannabis here. That group would define and license retail outlets and grow operations and have the final word on what types of medical conditions are covered.

The bill got further than any cannabis bill here since 2018. But there was a huge, last-minute amendment that created a huge, last-minute caveat. The bill would only be passed when the federal government downgraded cannabis from a Schedule I drug (alongside LSD and heroin) to Schedule II (alongside cocaine and meth).

Again, we have bigger fish to fry at the moment. But if coronavirus has you anxious, go get yourself some CBD products. Where? Thumb through this week’s Flyer and you’ll find the finest hemp-product purveyors in the area. Please tell them you saw their ad in this fine publication. We’re in this thing together.

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CannaBeat: New Bill Would Make it Harder for Cops to Search You

CREDIT: Dimitri Bong | Unsplash

So, you’re cruising through Midtown, puffing on a perfectly legal doober of CBD flower. Some cop smells it, says it’s THC, wants to search your car, and maybe arrest you.

What can you do? Right now? Nothing. But that could change, thanks to the work of two Republican lawmakers in Tennessee. (You read that right.)

A Baptist and former special education teacher, Sen. Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), and a cattle-farming, Church of Christ congregant, Rep. Jay D. Reedy (R-Erin), want to make it harder for law enforcement officials to search your car (or anywhere else) “based solely on the odor of cannabis.”

CBD and industrial hemp were legalized thanks to the 2018 Farm Bill, but much of the details of that legalization were left up to the individual states. Regulations have come here in spurts and fits, but there’s been no “here’s-what-we’re-doing-with-CBD” task force or regulatory agency formed. So CBD and hemp is still in the Wild West a bit.

Dimitri Bong | Unsplash

The “odor-of-cannabis” bill shows just how wild. Historically speaking, Republicans have been tough on crime and not too keen on jazz cabbage or its fans. Yet, this bill seems a reversal on both stances.

However, it does fit Republican ideals in two ways. Industrial hemp and CBD are rising industries in Tennessee (read: business and bucks). They’re also agricultural products (read: Tennessee farmers are so on Republican brand, and they vote).

But a look under the hood of this possible new law shows it could be a boon to local governments. The folks in Nashville who put price tags on all kinds of legislative ideas say the bill would cut simple possession or casual exchange violations in half.

Researchers with the state government assumed there were about 18,690 convicted on such charges last year. Most of these offenders wind up in local jails. Keeping 10 percent of them out would save local governments more than $897,000 in incarceration fees.

Possessing a half-ounce to 10 pounds of marijuana — a Class E felony — will get you an average of 1.28 years. Cut that by 10 percent, the researchers say, and the state government saves more than $752,000 every year.

However, state and local drug dogs will need to be trained to distinguish between hemp and marijuana, the researchers said. That training could cost up to a total of $300,000 annually.

Two other Republicans, Rep. Bryan Terry (R-Murfreesboro) and Sen. Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), want to push the THC front a bit.

Their bill would prohibit the “revocation of parole, probation, or bail based on a drug test result that is positive for THC below a certain level.” It would also prohibit “public employers from taking adverse employment action and denying certain benefits based on such a test result.”

Few details of the legislation were immediately available. It was filed in late January and hasn’t yet been debated.

Hemp Fest 2020

Um, is it too early to get excited about Mid-South Hemp Fest? I didn’t think so.

Last year’s was the largest cannabis event in the state. It returns on Saturday and Sunday, April 18th-19th, at Shelby Farms. Search for the event page on Facebook. We’ll see you there!