Lawmakers in Tennessee have given final approval to an extremely limited medical marijuana bill that will allow cannabis oil to treat seizures.
Senate Bill 280, along with an identical House bill, passed both chambers unanimously this week and now head to Governor Haslam’s desk for his signature. Once signed the bill will decriminalize CBD medical marijuana oil for a very small segment of potential patients – specifically, those who suffer from intractable seizures.
In order for a patient or caregiver to legally possess CBD oil the following conditions must be met:
- The bottle containing the oil is labeled by the manufacturer as containing cannabidiol in an amount less than 0.9 percent of tetrahydrocannabinol; and
- The person in possession of the oil retains:
(A) Proof of the legal order or recommendation from the issuing state; and
(B) Proof that the person or the person’s immediate family member has been diagnosed with intractable seizures by a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine who is licensed to practice medicine in the state of Tennessee;
CBD Oil: A foot in the door
Though CBD oil laws that have been instituted in states like South Carolina, Georgia and now Tennessee provide little benefit to the vast majority of patients that could be treated with medical marijuana (a number potentially in the millions), many patients, caregivers and activists see these “MMJ 2.0” laws as the beginning of a discussion on the benefits of medical marijuana, not defeat. If we were climbing a rock wall, these acknowledgements by state governments in the south that marijuana actually is medicine are new footholds opening before our very eyes. The horse is out of the barn and it is up to us to take the next step.
Let us grow!
Far from medical marijuana legalization, Tennessee is simply removing criminal penalties (decriminalizing) for qualified patients who posses CBD oil, they are not legalizing a system for producing and regulating medical marijuana grown in-state. Like Georgia, Tennessee lawmakers have thrown a bone to the increasingly-vocal medical marijuana crowd, but in doing so they have set their citizens up for breaking the law in other states as well as federal law. Even though the new law says CBD oil must be obtained legally in another state, that is impossible to do since it is illegal to purchase medical marijuana (registered patient or not) with the intention of taking it out-of-state.
It is time for our lawmakers to get out of the way and let patients grow their own medicine. From Parkinson’s Disease to Crohn’s to Fibromyalgia, the vast majority of medical marijuana patients could treat themselves for literally pennies per day, simply by growing their own perfectly-safe medicine in their own yard. Or for a modest investment, a patient can buy all of his grow supplies on Amazon and produce enough medicine to treat his or her condition in a spare closet. Online seed banks, like Royalqueenseeds, are ubiquitous and most ship from Europe to anywhere in the world. Once the marijuana has been grown and harvested there are literally a thousand and one (if not more) ways to ingest it, most of which can be accomplished with supplies purchased at your local grocery store or health food store.
CBD decriminalization laws are a start. It is now our responsibility to pick up the agenda that the politicians think is finished and push it forward until all patients have safe, legal access to this life-saving medicine.
Additional Resources
- Tennessee Senate Bill 280 (PDF)
- With Cannabis Cyndimae Can — Live: The unbelievably emotional, brave tale of Susan Meehan, mother of Cyndimae, who learned to grow the medicine that would save her own daughter’s life.
This draconian, racially provoked, antiquated law, must end! schedule one states, ” No Medical Value”! ……Really? WTF!? No medical value, yet your voting on a bill for MEDICAL MARIJUANA! Again, WTF? Have you no shame? Just trying to milk the poor? Keep the ill smiling, while throwing the rest in jail? You need funding that bad? The ENTIRE system is corrupt! This is total BS! It’s a plant! PLUS, it is ALL racially motivated! Why was it outlawed in the first place? Hmmmmm? BECAUSE A “HIGH” BLACK MAN WAS GOING TO RAPE AND PILLAGE! Watch the movie “Refer Madness” that says it all! You want a BAD DESTRUCTIVE DRUG THAT SHOULD BE OUTLAWED, GO AFTER LIQUOR! ……… LOOK AT THE STATS! Says it all!
How about “go after” nothing and allow adult Americans who are allegedly free to pursue happiness to do so, without our masters dictating to us from on high (no pun intended).
I think we need a real civil war!
Agree 10000000%
OPEN LETTER TO U.S. SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES:
35 states have legalized medical marijuana or are passing legislation regulating the
use of cannabidiol oils (CBD). Now is the time to reset federal law.
Recent polls show about 75 percent of Americans support a patient’s right to use
cannabis without fear of criminal prosecution if their doctor believes it may help.
Used incorrectly, marijuana causes damage and reasonable people want it to remain a controlled substance. However, current federal regulations stand in the way of scientific advancement and medical management of an important drug.
As only 1 example: Throughout our country we have a major problem with deaths from prescription narcotic-related overdose. In states that have allowed medically authorized cannabis for pain relief, the narcotics overdose rate has dropped significantly.
Patients break federal law if they possess any medical cannabis, including the nonintoxicating oil and are subject to prosecution. There is no good reason why patients and their families should have to take that risk.
The federal government can punish patients because cannabis is a “Schedule 1” drug according to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
The DEA has obstinately refused to reschedule cannabis into the less restrictive
Schedule 2 category. That’s why properly crafted new federal legislation is needed.
Although Schedule 2 drugs have a high potential for abuse, they have an accepted medical application and are much easier to obtain for purposes of important
academic research.
More U.S. Senators and Representatives are becoming co-sponsors of the Compassionate Access, Research Expansion and Respect States (CARERS) Act, Senate bill S 683 and House bill HR 1538.
The CARERS Act would allow patients, doctors and businesses in states that have
already passed medical marijuana laws to participate in those programs without fear of federal prosecution.
The Act is does five things:
* It removes cannibidiol (CBD oil) from the federal definition of marijuana.
* It reschedules marijuana from Schedule 1 to Schedule 2. This keeps recreational use illegal under federal law.
* It allows banking institutions to process transactions with legitimate state-regulated,
cannabis-based businesses.
* It increases availability of marijuana for FDA approved research projects, and allows VA Medical Center doctors to advise and assist patients regarding use of medical marijuana in states where it is legal.
Co-sponsor U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, D-Tenn., noted: “This important bill brings the federal government in line with the science and the American people.”
And co-sponsor Rep. Don Young, R-Ak., commented, “The CARERS Act aims to protect states that have legalized medical marijuana and allows them to properly enforce their own laws.”
Your support for balanced reform will show you defend state’s rights, even if you oppose federal legalization of recreational marijuana.
During a recent interview with CNN’s chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta,
President Obama stated how he feels about the CARERS Act. “I think carefully prescribed medical use of marijuana may in fact be appropriate and we should follow the science as opposed to some ideology on this issue”, he said.
These bills have now moved to the committee level in the U.S. Senate and House.
Additional support is needed to help them emerge for a full vote.
Therefore, I encourage you to sign on as an additional co-sponsor of the CARERS Act, S 683 or HR 1538.
Why not put on a ballot and let the voters decide. I am for medical, & recreational. It should be up to the voters. Look at all the revenue we are missing out on. There is a lot more money there than raising gas taxes.
Dr. Hine. I applaud your effort as a practicing Physician to reply with such vigor! As a 55 year old “successful ” individual, Business Owner, Father of two daughters, in there own Medical careers, and married once, to the same woman for 30+ years, I am curious why you would still want to keep recreation Marijuana, as a law breaking crime? As a Academic, you do reilize that ALL forms of Marijuana are SAFER than any form of Alcohol. So again, why keep it illegal, when the ONLY harm done, is by the crimal justice system? Is the idea of a crimal record, for partaking in a substance SAFER than the legal alternative, a sound idea for a persons future? Or how about losing your job, because of this law, then also losing the method for keeping your family secure and together? None of this make sense. What I can conceive, is that the law is keeper in place, ONLY as a means to FUND private prisons, others objectives. No lessons are learned when some one is incarcerated over some grass! The only thing learned is contempt for a system out of control!
amen i second all you said ill add one more Winston Churchhill said the untied states didnt get to be such a sugary cookie useing less sugar there is good in our laws and govt but alot of corrupton poor get poorer and rich get richer . this country was built on alcohol . the worse drug out there so many dead dieing killing broken homes on and on but you smoke herb or try to relieve pains depression etc your a criminal . i pray one day these higher ups well they think they are get a grip and open there eys
Also, if it became legal 100% and have farms across the country cultivating it, you will take the money and crime out of it! It’s simple supply and demand. Once the supply side is maximized, the price will plummet. Once the price plumettes, the crime will be gone. CRIME=$$$$$ take out the dollars, get rid of the crime! This is not a difficult nor unique species to cultivate. Mass farming techniques can and will apply. If only a few farmers grew ANY kind of crop, and 40 million, want it, of course the price will be high! But now plant hundreds of thousands of acres, the price will fall!
If you want to know why it is not legalized, look to the prescription drug market and any other business that might have their profits compromised by legalizing a simple weed that grows from the ground. These markets don’t want their profits cut into and look to the businesses that have sprung up to treat illnesses that marijuana may either cure or control the symptoms. It’s all about the money, not the people who would benefit from it’s use.
I honestly think they keep the illegality of the entire substance because of the criminal fines/seizure laws and prosecution of all the individuals that are caught with small amount of the substance. The police can tow your car, impound it, keep every dime of money they find and then extort you to donate money to a local “drug task force” and they return your vehicle. It’s the equivalent of blackmail and it must be stopped!
Once they realize how much cash the other states are already estimating in return on the sale of the legal products they will jump ship. It’s just a matter of time just way too much tax none floating around no to mention the job creation the product would bring to the areas of the deep south were the crop could flourish. The hot, humid weather in West, TN, Mississippi and Arkansas would be the new”emerald triangle” it’s the perfect climate!
I am a 69 year old woman who had a career she loved, but had to retire from due to chronic daily migraines and cluster headaches. I have had them for 18 years. I have had just about every migraine treatment out there including clinical trials. I have been a patient at the top clinic for migraines, Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota as well as other migraine clinics. Everything new that comes along, I’m ready. I have been legally drugged out of my mind by licensed physicians to the point of not being able to recall the names of coworkers that I had worked with for years. At times I required assistance walking. I still have difficulty with words. I might add that no one once suggested I should not drive. This is one thing Tennessee is considering if someone is on medical marijuana.
I cannot tell you how many people have told me that marijuana is what I need, even people from church. I wouldn’t smoke it even if I could. I can’t due to a lung disease. I have family members who have smoked it for many years and no one will convince me that passing a bill that would make recreational marijuana legal would be a good thing. I have witnessed myself the destruction and illness it brings. Making it legal isn’t going to change that, it’s just going to make it easier.
I had a military reunion to go to with my husband a couple of weeks ago in Seattle, Washington. His former crew mates are well aware of my pain. As soon as I walked in the door I was surrounded and questioned about my migraines and again told that I needed marijuana. I started laughing and was quickly told that it was legal in Washington.
The next day we went to the store. We purchased a “breath spray”. It contained 22 CBD to 1 THC. No high, just almost instant pain relief. I had the best pain-free week I had had in years and years and years! It DOES NOT need to be smoked or eaten. We just need the medicinal oil! The people who want recreational want the “fun”, the “high”! I will do everything I can to support the change from schedule I to schedule II. I support the people whose health will greatly benefit from medical marijuana.
Sandy, I am so happy you finally found relief for yiur medical issues. I do have a problem though, with your thoughts in legalizing Marijuana. The personal destruction you witnessed, are doubtfuly “brought on” by partaking in Marijuana. I dont know your story, but I know mine. Six decades old, two fully grown educated, Dr.Daughters, self employed 4+ decades, married once, 30+ Years, home owner, weedsmoker, 4+ decades… no loss of ambition here! Most problems are self induced, so PLEASE, dont blame weed…Glad your feeling better!!!
I have a chronic, terminal disease, (and also migraines, fibro) and I had hoped to try the oil, but I guess that won’t be possible in TN because it’s only for extreme seizures. I cannot take the usual pain pills (full of terrible side effects) given to patients like me, as they make me deathly ill, serious projectile vomiting with days of nausea and no relief. Hate this…
I find it funny that cdbs are allowed here in tn, yet only for a select few conditions specifically in children. Now all of a sudden I’m seeing obviously fake cdb pills and oils turn up in these small stores. If the substance has no medical benefits, then why is there an industry producing fake cdb products. So the state would rather allow a scam of sick people to take place rather than allow something they think they control. The war on Marijuana has been going on from 1947 till present. Before that, it was a rather large crop grown here in the USA. But as with anything else, the media got ahold of a story and blew it all out of proportion. I’m speaking about movies such as reefer madness, etc. The hype was believed, caused a nation wide fear and thus our current ignorant laws on a simple plant that has never harmed anyone, yet saved millions of lives. The only thing I can compare the media hype to, and the reaction to it, was almost like the old radio show, put on so long ago that put the entire USA in panic mode, had people killing each other, because they believed what the news told them. I’m talking about H.G. Wells radio broadcast of “War of the worlds”. This proves how much influence the media has on its people. And of late, how much “news” is now being questioned because it has been proven that they, “the media”, only produce what they are told to by the people with the biggest check books, I Big Pharm and unfortunately our own government. One last point before my rant is over, please stop calling our government, our leaders, they are not, they are our employees, maybe they need to be reminded of that fact. Your boss at work doesn’t allow you to tell him or her what to do, so why do you allow your employees to tell you what you can and can’t do?
There is absolutely no reason what so ever that we shouldn’t be able to use this for everything. Forget damaging your organs with Tylenol and any other over the counter drug. People are dying because of an ignorant society and this has got to stop. Maybe if we had CBD and the pharmaceutical scumbags weren’t flooding the streets with opiates maybe a dozen of my friends and family members would still be here today
I am a simple woman and I have been diagnosed with endometriosis. It is a painful rare condition. I lost work and relationships from the pain and humiliation of this condition. It’s not something I would wish on my worst enemy it is so bad at times. Sometimes it hurts so bad I want to die. Thankfully I did do something about it because I couldnt afford a doctor. I smoked it illegally. A medical grade type strain. I had relief when the pain set in, I could function and live better for the week I did that. Not to be gross or crass the pain comes with the monthly monster women have. I will admit I did use medicinal marijuana to treat my condition. I am convinced that it works. I would rather have a concentrate such as the oil, And moreso it to be legal like an over the counter medicine controlled like sudafed or those “D” medicines where if you get them you have to show i.d. and sign something. I think if you need it bad enough and it is something you know will help you if you are partially medical minded to do so. I am a certified medical coder and my aunt, god rest her soul died of stage 4 cancer. So I did the research. It’s an amazing drug with homeopathic potential if used correctly and not recreationally. I pray this oil becomes legal. I dont want to sit in a bathroom crying for a week each month anymore than a friend wants to lose their loved ones to cancer or seizures. It is time.
As one who has been in chronic pain since 1998, due to a car accident, and one that used marijuana about 5 times to relieve pain when I lived elsewhere, I KNOW it works. I cannot take any anti-inflammatory medication. It soon begins to shut down my kidneys. I don’t want to be a recreational user. I want to use the oil and get rid of the pain. I wish the politicians would use their heads and legalize it, especially for medicinal use.