Tennessee Governor Signs Low-THC Oil Law

On Monday, Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed SB 280 into law. This new law, which was sponsored by Sen. Becky Massey, will allow qualified patients to legally possess cannabis oils with no more than 0.9% THC if their doctors recommend it. While this is an improvement to current law, it leaves the vast majority of medical marijuana patients without legal protections for using and possessing the medicine their doctors think is best for them.

[caption id="attachment_8753" align="alignright" width="150"] Gov. Bill Haslam[/caption]

Unfortunately, SB 280 also fails to include any regulated means for patients to access cannabis oil in Tennessee. Seriously ill patients or their families would have to travel to another state to get access to medical cannabis preparations. Not only is it illegal to transport CBD between states, it may be illegal to possession cannabis oil in states along the way. This law places patients and loved ones at risk.

While the bill takes a step forward, the law is so incomplete that MPP will still not be counting it as a “medical marijuana state.” If you are a Tennessee resident, ask your legislators to make sure this is only a first step.