A robust new bill could bring medical marijuana to Tennessee.

The bill allows pot to be vaped, eaten, or absorbed through the skin. But not smoked.

Potentially, dozens of dispensaries could be open by next year.

Lawmakers this week abandoned a plan to introduce a sweeping proposal to legalize and regulate medical marijuana throughout Tennessee.

Sen. Steve Dickerson,R-Nashville, one of the state's strongest voices for medical marijuana, said Wednesday that the proposal did not have enough support to pass, so advocates were delaying bills on the topic until next year.

But before making that decision, Dickerson was poised to introduce a legislative amendment that would have allowed people with severe illnesses to legally buy pot from licensed dispensaries as soon as next summer.

That amendment, obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee, is 68 pages long, so it can be hard to understand if you aren't a politician or a bureaucrat.

So this is a handy guide to many of the questions about the latest medical marijuana proposal.

It's important to remember that this proposed legislation is dead, so nothing described here is going to occur as proposed. But Dickerson said he plans to reintroduce medical marijuana legislation in 2020, and it is very likely that his bill will be similar to the legislation detailed in the questions and answers below.

What would the Tennessee medical marijuana amendment have done?

As envisioned, the amended bill — named the Tennessee Agricultural Medicine Act — would have proposed a legal framework for medical marijuana throughout the state. The bill would have created a new agricultural medicine commission to issue licenses to medical marijuana businesses and registration cards to marijuana patients. Patients would have needed to have been diagnosed with a qualifying condition by a doctor.

The proposal would has also created a registry of patients that could be accessed by police, allowing officers to check on the fly who is allowed to carry pot and who isn't. Theoretically, this would allow qualifying Tennesseans to legally carry marijuana without fear of arrest.

What kind of marijuana would have been allowed?

Vapes? Yes.

Edibles? Yes.

Joints? No.

The proposal that was abandoned for the year earlier this week would have allowed for marijuana products to be consumed in a variety of ways but still would have forbidden old fashioned smoking. Medical marijuana would be legal in “nasal sprays, capsules, pills, suppositories, transdermal patches, ointments, lotions, lozenges, tinctures, oils and liquids,” according to the bill.

Although smoking marijuana would have been specifically forbidden, the amendment said specifically that vaporized marijuana is “not deemed to be smoked,” so vapes would be permitted.

When would medical marijuana have become available?

If the proposed bill had been introduced and enacted into law, medical marijuana would have been available for sale in Tennessee as early as the summer of 2020. As written, the amendment established that the first dispensary applications would be accepted between May and July of next year, then processed within four months.

Potentially, as many as 75 marijuana businesses — growers, processors and dispensaries — would have been licensed in 2020.

Who would qualify to use medical marijuana?

As proposed, the amendment would have allowed for marijuana registration cards for Tennesseans with the following “debilitating medical conditions:”

Cancer

HIV or AIDS

Hepatitis C

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Alzheimer's disease

Severe arthritis

Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Multiple sclerosis

Parkinson's disease

Cerebral palsy

Tourette syndrome

Sickle cell anemia

Or any chronic or debilitating disease or condition that causes the following symptoms: Cachexia or wasting syndrome, Peripheral neuropathy, Chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those characteristic of epilepsy or severe or persistent muscle spasms.

Was opioid addiction a qualifying condition?

Unlike some prior proposals, this amendment did not specifically identify opioid addiction as a qualifying condition for a medical marijuana card.

But the proposal allowed some leeway to the new medical marijuana commission, which could potentially have approved it as a qualifying condition on an individual basis.

Opioid addiction could also potentially qualified under language in the amendment that allowed for medical marijuana to be used to treat “neurological, mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders and associated disorders that interfere with mental health.”

Could children use medical marijuana?

Potentially, yes. The proposed amendment would have allowed for children with a qualifying illness to get a medical marijuana card if their parent or legal guardian agreed to be the child's “designated caregiver” and to control the purchase, dosage and frequency of their child’s marijuana.

How much would a marijuana card have cost?

It was pretty cheap — $35.

Who would be in charge of medical marijuana in Tennessee?

If the proposed amendment would have been introduced and passed into law, it would have create a nine-member “agriculture medicine commission,” headquartered in Nashville, to oversee medical marijuana in Tennessee.

The commission make-up would be:

Three members appointed by the governor — one of whom has business experience, one who has law enforcement experience and one at-large member.

Three members appointed by the speaker of the state Senate — one licensed health care professional, one person with agricultural expertise and one at-large member.

Three members appointed by the speaker of the state House of Representatives — one licensed health care professional, one person with agricultural expertise and one at-large member.

Commission members would be paid a salary of $45,000 and initial terms would last two to four years, with follow-up terms all lasting four years. The commission was envisioned to meet monthly, at least, and hire a director to handle daily operations.

Where would dispensaries have been located?

The proposed amendment was written to intentionally spread marijuana businesses throughout the state. In it’s first two years of operation, the commission could potentially license up to 75 marijuana businesses, generally split evenly between the West, Middle and East Tennessee.

Could a community keep marijuana dispensaries out of their town?

Yes. The proposal allowed for elected officials in municipalities or counties to opt out of the statewide medical marijuana program, preventing any marijuana businesses from opening within their borders. Individual residents could do this also by collecting signatures and adding an opt-out option to a local ballot.

Could a marijuana dispensary open near a school?

No. The proposal specifically forbid any marijuana business from operating within 1,000 feet of a school or 300 feet of a child care center, a public park, a public playground, a public swimming pool, a community center or a child or place of worship.

In other states, limitations like this one have sometimes pushed dispensaries into industrial areas.

How will medical marijuana have been taxed? Where will the taxes have gone?

As proposed in the amendment, the sale of medical marijuana in Tennessee would not have been subject to inflated taxes. Standard sales tax would apply. All tax dollars collected would've gone into the state’s general fund but be credited to a separate account for the Agriculture Medicine Commission.

Did the proposal approve recreational marijuana?

It did not. Possessing marijuana without a valid medicinal registration card would still be a crime.

Did the proposal affect CBD or hemp?

It does not. Both of those products are already legal in Tennessee. Hemp and CBD, which are derived from marijuana but do not get you high, are widely available in stores throughout the state.

CBD:LabCanna is a Nashville CBD company with rock 'n' roll roots

What would have happened if the bill wasn't killed?

This is a big question, and it’s not an easy one to answer. Dickerson said the bill would have been voted down in committee, which he considered more politically damaging than being delayed until next year.

But even if the bill were to pass the legislature, it it would have faced another opponent in the governor’s office. Gov. Bill Lee said prior to being elected that he opposed medical marijuana.

"For me, the data is not substantive enough to show that medical marijuana is the right approach right now,” Lee said during an October debate. “I would pursue other options first."

MORE:Medical marijuana in Tennessee? Here's what to expect with new Governor Bill Lee

Brett Kelman is the health care reporter for The Tennessean. He can be reached at 615-259-8287 or at brett.kelman@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter at @brettkelman.