CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The Montgomery County Commission on Monday discussed adding the legalization of medical marijuana to the 2025 Legislative Agenda before ultimately voting down the proposal.

Going into the meeting, the Montgomery County Legislative Agenda was built around infrastructure and public policy, according to county documents. However, County Commissioner David Shelton, who sponsored the proposed amendment, said the legalization of medical cannabis, or marijuana, should be on the agenda since it had been in years past.

“For some reason, it was omitted on this one, so I felt it was important to correct that omission,” Shelton told Clarksville Now. “I do understand there are procedural things involved, but it still should have been on there.”

Shelton also said medical cannabis is a good alternative to opioids. “We spent a lot of time last week talking about the opioid funding that we approved last night, and for some reason we can’t connect the two in our minds. Cannabis is a viable alternative for people who need to have pain management. This is especially true for veterans.”

He said numerous surrounding states have legalized medical cannabis, including Kentucky and even Alabama. “Alabama basically passed a law that Tennessee wrote,” Shelton said.

“I understand there may be a lot of people who find (the subject) controversial, but the reality of it is medical cannabis is supported by an overwhelming majority of the public. … This is something that we need; this is something our veterans need; this is something our community needs, and we should be pushing it forward.”

‘I wish it had been brought to us at the beginning’

Monday night, a few county commissioners spoke on their hesitancy, including Commissioner Rashidah Leverett, who serves as chair of the Legislative Liaison Committee.

Leverett said while this is an important issue that the State of Tennessee will eventually have to deal with, the proposal lacks adequate deliberation.

“Introducing a resolution of this magnitude, we need to have meaningful debate as a committee,” Leverett said. “I think all of us on the committee should probably debate this back and forth, talk about it and get to a consensus so that it does not damage our credibility as a legislative body if we are divided on the issue and then asking the General Assembly.”

Leverett said she would like all 21 commissioners, as well as other stakeholders such as the public, law enforcement and Fort Campbell, to be involved in the decision-making process. She said the county needs to look at the proposal’s legality and speak with the Health Department as well.

“I wish it had been brought to us at the beginning when we first met,” Leverett said. “I think that would have been very prudent of us to deliberate at that time as a collective body and committee.”

Amendment voted down

Commissioner David Harper motioned for the amendment to be deferred one month to allow time for Legislative Liaison Committee to discuss and debate the issue. However, Mayor Wes Golden noted that the county has plans to meet with the legislative body later this week to discuss the agenda. The motion to defer the amendment failed.

Commissioner Nathan Burkholder said he appreciated the work the Legislative Liaison Committee did with building the agenda and added he believes the County Commission should vote on the agenda as it was originally proposed.

Commissioner Jorge Padro said with his experience in the military, having cannabis in a military environment made it especially hard for those in charge. Padro said he does support medicinal cannabis, but asked, “How do we ensure that doesn’t get out of the medical environment and affect other people in the community?”

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The amended resolution was voted down 11-9. Voting no were Commissioners John Gannon, Joe Smith, Rickey Ray, Leverett, Michael Lankford, Burkholder, Joe Creek, Walker Woodruff, Harper, Chris Rasnic and Billy Frye.

Voting yes were Commissioners Tangi Smith, Padro, Jeremiah Walker, Carmelle Chandler, Joshua Beal, Lisa Prichard, Ryan Gallant, Autumn Simmons and Shelton. Commissioner Jason Knight was absent.

After the meeting, Shelton said he plans to bring the matter back up when the County Commission looks to build their next legislative agenda in 2026. He also credited Prichard for her work on advocating for medical cannabis in the community over the years.

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