Tennessee Governor Signs Bill Blocking State Medical Marijuana Legalization Review Following Federal Rescheduling

Tennessee’s governor has signed a bill to block an automatic review that could have potentially legalized medical marijuana under state law following the federal rescheduling of the drug.

Under Tennessee law, federal reclassification of a substance generally triggers an automatic review by the state’s commissioner of health and commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services. But under SB1603, which Gov. Bill Lee (R) approved on Thursday, that will not be the case when it comes to cannabis.

“If marijuana is rescheduled or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law, then the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse services shall not reschedule or delete marijuana under [state drug laws] unless the general assembly has established a regulatory framework for marijuana and authorized the commissioner to reschedule or delete marijuana as a controlled substance,” the bill says.

The governor’s action came on the same that the the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it is formally moving forward with marijuana rescheduling.

Last month, House Majority Leader William Lamberth (R) said the push to move cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III of the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) could remove roadblocks at the state level.

“My biggest objections are being resolved by the federal government right now in rescheduling cannabis and rescheduling specifically marijuana and allowing the doctors to take over and make a determination on how and if these substances could be helpful,” Lamberth said at the time.

But now, with Lee’s action, there will be no automatic state scheduling review for cannabis following the federal policy change.

Lawmakers, however, could always pass legislation to enact legalization—if they choose to do so.

To that end, Rep. Jason Powell (D) last week called on the governor and legislative leaders to convene a special session focused on legalizing medical marijuana access for patients.

“The suffering of Tennesseans who could benefit from medical cannabis is more than enough reason to bring lawmakers back to Nashville,” he said. “If the governor chooses not to act, then members of the General Assembly should come together and call a special session ourselves. This issue deserves action this year.”

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Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Tennessee discussed how the federal move to reclassify marijuana could open the door to medical marijuana reform after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in December directing officials to finalize the process.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) said at the time that rescheduling represents a “first step”  to medical cannabis reform in Tennessee, though he noted there are still certain outstanding logistical questions to answer.

“There will have to be conversations about who manufactures it, who tests it, who distributes, which medical illness could it be used for, does this require [federal Food and Drug Administration, or FDA] approval and a host of other questions,” Sexton said.