Nashville GOP senator to propose medical marijuana bill

A Nashville Republican senator is working on legislation that will, to some degree, suggest changing Tennessee law to allow marijuana for medicinal usage.

Sen. Steve Dickerson, who is also an anesthesiologist, confirmed Thursday he's working on the legislation with Rep. Ryan Williams, R-Cookeville.

"We want to make sure that it's medical appropriate, substantiated, and that it answers the real needs of Tennesseans," Dickerson said.

Dickerson said the details won't be finalized until Monday, but the goal is to provide some relief to people suffering from conditions that might be alleviated through the use of medical marijuana. He said he thinks the bill will be "limited," but at the same time he hopes to make it "as inclusive as possible."

In the past, Democrats have tried and failed to pass medical marijuana legislation. Nashville Democratic Rep. Sherry Jones has introduced the legislation again this year, along with Sen. Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, but it has yet to make it out of committee.

There is a GOP effort to legalize cannabis oil for limited medical uses, and another House committee approved a bill Wednesday that would allow children suffering from seizures to use the oil for medicinal purposes.

Stressing the details aren't finalized, Dickerson said the plan could go further than the cannabis oil bill. Despite previous opposition over questions of abuse or federal law, Dickerson thinks a national shift in opinion along with his standing as a Republican and being a doctor helps lend credibility and political muscle to any medical marijuana push.

"I do believe that the nature of the conversation has changed over the last several years," Dickerson said, noting 23 states and Washington, D.C., allow medical marijuana, and 13 more are considering adopting the law.

"It's really the whole environment has changed, No. 1. Number two, I think it also just comes down to the fact that in the majority party, it might be easier to get a bill through than if you're in the minority party."

Several lawmakers, mainly Democrats, noted during discussions of the cannabis oil bill that they wished it would allow more people to use the oil. But legislative leadership has been hesitant to support a wider push on legalization for medicinal use.

Gov. Bill Haslam has opposed any broad medical marijuana legislation in the past, and he recently repeated the same concerns.

"I think there's a difference cannabis oil and medical marijuana, and I think our department has some real concerns on the medical marijuana versus the cannabis oil," he said, according to The Nashville Post.

Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said if any cannabis oil or medical marijuana legislation were pushed in the General Assembly five years ago it "wouldn't (have) had a prayer." Like Dickerson though, he thinks opinions in Tennessee and nationwide are changing.

"The cannabis oil bill, I'm fine with that. Steve Dickerson is a medical doctor, I trust his opinion on this kind of stuff, he knows much more about it than I do. And I'm sure he's not for the complete legalization of marijuana, so if he can sell something else to me to take it to the next step, then we'll do that," Ramsey said.

In a non-scientific survey recently released by House Speaker Beth Harwell, R-Nashville, 64 percent of respondents said they favored legalizing marijuana for medicinal usage. Harwell said she thinks there could be support for the cannabis oil bill, but "I don't think this state is ready for a broad piece of legislation."

Although the deadline to file bills has passed, lawmakers can use what they call "caption bills" to push for seemingly new legislation late in session. The caption bill addresses some part of Tennessee law that relates to the topic in question — in this case, marijuana law. Lawmakers can then call for an amendment to that caption bill that can significantly change the purpose of the bill.

Dickerson said he and Williams have a caption bill that they plan to use for the medical marijuana legislation.

Reach Dave Boucher at 615-259-8892 and on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.