Democrats introduced a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly this week to legalize marijuana.
HB 1968 “[a]uthorizes the possession and transport of marijuana or marijuana concentrate, in permitted amounts, for adults who are at least 21 years of age (adults). Authorizes transfer of marijuana or marijuana concentrate between adults, in permitted amounts, without remuneration. Authorizes cultivation of up to 12 marijuana plants for adults. Authorizes the possession, storage, and processing of marijuana on an adult’s residence, in permitted amounts. Authorizes a parent, guardian, or conservator to administer a marijuana product, excluding any combustible product, to a minor, over whom the parent, guardian, or conservator has legal authority.”
State Representative Bob Freeman (D-Nashville) is the House sponsor for the bill.
Its companion bill, SB 2598, was also introduced in the State Senate. State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-Oak Hill) is sponsoring the bill there.
Inside the bill is also a proposed breakdown of how to spend sales tax revenue from the sale of legalized marijuana in the state. The sales tax on marijuana would be 15 percent, more than double the state’s typical sales tax of 7 percent.
According to the bill, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) would receive half of the sales tax revenue for the purpose of “administration and enforcement” of the law, along with education and implementation initiatives.
Twenty percent of the sales tax revenue would be used to train police officers on the new marijuana laws, to “support of law enforcement officers injured in the line of duty,” and to “support of families of law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty.”
The bill does not detail what that support would be.
Another 20 percent of the tax revenue would benefit the State Employee Legacy Pension Stabilization Reserve Trust. Five percent would be given to the Department of Education (DOE), and the last five percent to the Department of Revenue (DOR) to administer the provisions of the bill.
The Tennessee Star reached out to several House Republicans asking if the bill would even merit consideration, but none returned comment requests.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Bob Freeman” by Tennessee General Assembly. Photo “Heidi Campbell” by Tennessee General Assembly. Background Photo “Medical Marijuana” by O’Dea. CC BY-SA 4.0.
