GOP Senator Keeps Pushing For Legal Medical Marijuana In Tennessee: Will Second Time Be A Spell?

Through Jelena Martinovic

A push to legalize medical marijuana in Tennessee foundered last year when a bill by Republican Sen. Janice Bowling was killed after it had previously been pushed by a committee.

A year later, however, separate legislation sponsored by Bowling’s fellow Republicans — Rep. Bryan Terry and Senator Ferrell Haile — was heard before the House Criminal Justice Committee.

Bowling is now preparing for another boost, according to The Tullahoma News.

The law, SB2477/HB2458, would allow people with relevant medical conditions to legally use medicinal cannabis. It will also regulate the cultivation, production, distribution, transportation, sale and possession of cannabis for medical use and research.

She also noted that her bill earned her an invitation to Alabama last year, where Gov. Kay Ivey signed a medical cannabis bill into law.

“It was kind of bittersweet to leave [to Alabama] and rejoice with them and be kind of sad that Tennessee didn’t do it,” she said.

Photo by Brandon Jean via Unsplash

A restaurant serving THC

Meanwhile, Tennessee recently got a bar and restaurant serving THC. However, the THC in the products comes from hemp, making it legal at the federal level.

Located at 1246 3rd Avenue in the Germantown neighborhood, Buds & Brews offers a menu of “upscale bar food” paired with an array of “delicious cannabis-infused sauces.”

The restaurant provides diners with over 25 THC-infused condiments for common dressings like ketchup, honey mustard, and ranch dressing. Also, hemp-derived THC steak sauce in 1-5 milligram servings.

This article originally appeared on Benzinga and has been republished with permission.