A pair of Tennessee Democrats are renewing their “Pot for Potholes” campaign, as a new law cracking down on hemp shops begins impacting retailers.
Nashville-area lawmakers Senator Heidi Campbell and Representative Aftyn Behn have proposed the measure before, suggesting the state legalize marijuana for adults 21 and over, and use tax revenue to support improvements to transportation infrastructure.
“The state of Tennessee, I know, is not going to be able to fund things in a significant way anytime soon, so this would be a revenue stream that we desperately need for infrastructure improvements,” Sen. Campbell said. “Right now, we’re not benefiting from those sales at all, and, moreover, we have people leaving the state to buy it in places where it is legal.”
The renewed campaign comes as Republicans crack down on what the hemp restriction bill’s sponsor calls “the wild west.”
“We have a situation here in Tennessee, where we essentially are dealing with unregulated, recreational marijuana, with no regulation, and it’s the wild west out there,” said Senator Richard Briggs, a Knoxville Republican, in his floor speech before the bill passed in April 2025.
It passed the Senate, 23-9, with four Republicans voting against and one voting present, while one Democrat crossed over in favor.
Hemp businesses flourished nationwide after the 2018 farm bill. Congress made the cultivation of industrial hemp legal and defined hemp as having less than 0.3% of delta-9. This allowed for the proliferation of beverages and gummies that can still induce a high while remaining within the limit.
The new law bans THC in concentrations of more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis. The law specifically targets THCA, a non-intoxicating substance that, when heated or smoked, can be converted into delta-9 THC, which can be intoxicating. It also prohibits in-state sales online.
The law went into effect in January. However, throughout the first half of the year, businesses that were issued licenses on or before December 31, 2025, operated under their previous framework, as part of an agreement between state officials and the Tennessee Healthy Alternatives Association (TNHAA).
Businesses like Snapdragon, which has a dozen locations around Chattanooga, prepared over several months for the changes, working to obtain proper licenses. Owner Josh Manning said every location saw its best sales in history just before the ban began impacting his stores on July 1.
“We see it [the business] being a really drink-heavy THC product in the future, and they’re getting rid of smokeable — anything that looks like flower, joints, blunts [or] if it looks like cannabis,” Manning said last month.
Manning said he hopes the state expands the regulated model and allows the safe sale of products. He supports “Pot for Potholes.”
Hemp regulation now falls under Tennessee’s Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), rather than the state’s Department of Agriculture. TABC requires testing by laboratories it certifies.
Records provided to Local 3 by TABC show that as of July 1, more than 100 businesses in the Chattanooga area had obtained or applied for proper licenses to operate under the new regulatory structure. That list has more than doubled since Local 3 first requested the list last month.
Although Campbell said she doesn’t disagree with the restrictions in principle, she believes demand will remain high, and customers will go out-of-state or to the black market to purchase products such as flower, which are now effectively banned.
“My push has always really been about the fact that it is unsafe — that we’re seeing a lot of kids that are dealing with cannabis-induced psychosis, because there’s not homogeneity in the products, and they’re not regulated,” she said.
Under Campbell and Behn’s proposal, there would be regulations for growing and testing. To generate revenue for infrastructure, there would be a 15% tax on cannabis.
Campbell said there is a $58 billion backlog in transportation projects.
“Recreational [legalization] is a heavier lift, but the fiscal case gets stronger every year that the state leaves this revenue on the table,” she said.
Campbell plans to re-file the bill next session and believes there could be support from the other side of the aisle. In April, President Donald Trump announced an executive order reclassifying medical marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. The former is reserved for drugs with high potential for abuse and no currently accepted medical use, compared to accepted medical use with the latter.
However, the legislation faces an uphill battle in the GOP-dominated legislature.
“These are ridiculously liberal statements that take evil to make money,” said Rep. Kevin Raper, a Cleveland Republican, in a statement to Local 3. “You can’t justify evil for anything, anywhere, and anytime. At no time does this future legislation care about the harmful effects on people. These thoughts are derived from no heart and human kindness.”
Representative Greg Vital, a Republican representing Harrison, said infrastructure improvements remain a top priority, but he disagrees with Campbell’s proposed revenue stream.
“We have added several billion dollars in the last several years through the Transportation modernization act and other initiatives. However, I do not believe that legalization of marijuana or taxation of other drugs as a tradeoff for more road investment is what Tennesseans want,” he wrote in a statement. “Current revenue of the state of Tennessee is large enough to fund priorities in an appropriate manner and also provide for a balanced budget. Between looking at the current funding levels of various agencies and wasteful incentives, we can find additional funds for investment in roads and infrastructure by relocating new priorities.”