Marijuana may soon become legal in Tennessee, medicinally anyway.
A bill has been introduced in the House that would permit marijuana for medicinal purposes. Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws legalizing the medicinal use.
This bill will not legalize marijuana for recreational uses, only for medicinal purposes, which qualify under the bill’s extensive descriptions.
Rep. Sherry Jones, D-Nashville, is the sponsor of the bill.
If passed, HB 1385, known as the Koozer-Kuhn Medical Cannabis Act, will allow qualifying patients to purchase cannabis for a variety of “qualifying medical conditions.” Under this bill, qualifying medical conditions would be cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis (MS), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), hepatitis C (HCV), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Crohn’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Alzheimer’s disease.
It would also allow for treatment in a chronic or debilitating disease that meets one or more of the following: “cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe, debilitating, chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including, but not limited to, those characteristic of epilepsy; severe and persistent muscle spasms, including, but not limited to, those characteristic of a spinal cord injury or nerve damage.” Other conditions that would be included are any conditions for which a patient receives hospice services or any other medical conditions that the health department approves.
The bill determines a qualifying patient as “a person who has been diagnosed with a qualifying medical condition by a practitioner and is a resident of Tennessee or such person’s designated and registered caregiver.” Qualifying patients would be enrolled in the “Safe Access Program.” Those enrolled in this program would receive an identification card that would prevent them from “arrest, prosecution, or penalty.” It would also prevent the denial of any rights or privileges including, occupational or professional licensing, civil penalty or disciplinary action by a business. Schools would not be allowed to deny enrollment, and landlords could not deny a lease to any cardholder.
“I need it legalized for medical reasons. I have fibromyalgia. Fibro does not offer many drugs at all, and all the drugs have terrible side effects for me. With not just marijuana, but THC tablets available, I would be in less pain and sleep better. With fibro, I have restless leg syndrome as well,” said one UTM student who asked not to be named.
Researchers and medical professionals have not been able to reach 100 percent agreement on the negative effects and risks of marijuana compared to the benefits of it. Some researchers have published works citing their support of medicinal uses, while others say they discovered no proof that there are benefits.
According to a December 201, post on the National Institute on Drug Abuse, “the scientific evidence to date is not sufficient for the marijuana plant to gain FDA approval, for two main reasons. First, there have not been enough clinical trials showing the marijuana’s benefits outweigh its health risks in patients with the symptoms it is meant to treat. … Also, to be considered a legitimate medicine, a substance must have well-defined and measureable ingredients that are consistent from one unit (such as pull or injection) to the next. … As the marijuana plant contains hundreds of chemical compounds that may have different effects and that vary from plant to plant, its use as a medicine is difficult to evaluate.”
Although researchers can’t agree on a stance, those who believe they would benefit from use of marijuana do not seem to acknowledge any risks associated.
“I see no risks in using medicinal marijuana. You don’t have to just smoke it. Using the THC tablets will eliminate the harming of lungs,” the student said. “With the illness I have, I would do anything to feel better. If medical marijuana can give me what I need to feel normal again, then that will be what I need to do.”
To voice opinions on HB 1385, representatives can be contacted through www.capitol.tn.gov/house/members.
