Tennessee State Senator Janice Bowling and Rep. Ron Travis announced on Thursday they will introduce comprehensive legislation to regulate access to medical cannabis.
The proposal would allow qualified patients to obtain medical cards if they are diagnosed with specific medical conditions and purchase products from companies that are licensed by Tennessee and owned by Tennesseans to cultivate, process and dispense cannabis.
The Bowling-Travis bill is substantially different from other legislation proposed in previous years.
The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Trade Association endorses the Bowling-Travis bill, which is expected to be introduced formally within the next few weeks.
According to a release, polling across Tennessee during the last two years has shown that 80 percent of Tennesseans support access to medical cannabis.