[[{“value”:”
The legality of marijuana in the United States was not federally made until 1937 with the passing of The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. According to Data Collaborative for Justice, the act “regulated and taxed the importation, cultivation, possession and/or distribution of marihuana for certain medical and industrial uses, largely through the issuance of ‘tax stamps’ to those in the marihuana market.”
In 1937, it was said that “relatively few Americans had even heard about marijuana,” according to MPP, whereas today, “50% of Americans admit to having tried it, and one in six used it in the past month.”
In Tennessee, marijuana remains illegal for recreational use, a trend between neighboring states. Hemant Sharma, a professor in the Department of Political Science, explained that neighboring states are beginning to legalize medicinal use.
“Typically, what happens there is you go to a doctor who would write a prescription for marijuana,” Sharma said. “That prescription might include the ability to grow a small number of plants and or use a small quantity of marijuana.”
A more recent drug that has been legalized nationally is hemp. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines hemp as “high in fiber and low in active tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that makes cannabis varieties a valued drug.”
In Tennessee alone, the hemp industry “has grown to an estimated $280-$560 million in annual sales since the products were legalized nearly six years ago,” according to Tennessee Lookout.
Hemp is more widely known as “delta-8 THC” or “delta-9 THC.” The current regulations of Hemp in Tennessee were last updated in 2021 under 7 C.F.R. § 990.3, 990.6 and 990.7. In Tennessee, “The U.S. Department of Agriculture coordinates the rules and regulations of hemp production through Tennessee’s hemp program,” according to the Tennessee Government.
“With hemp being legalized and the vape shops that have popped up with ‘delta’ products, it’s tough to differentiate sometimes across the different numbers with the deltas,” Sharma said.
Hemp is legally sold in Tennessee and more locally here in Knoxville at smoke shops, hemp shops and even gas stations. The legal limit of THC in hemp is 0.3% or less, but testing it can be tricky.
“Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture wants that process to include burning the item, so it is more kin to what it would be like when it is smoked,” Sharma said. “The point of discussion there is — well, they took my plant, they didn’t know if it was hemp or marijuana, they burned it and then they told me it was good, well I can’t get that back now because it has been burned.”
A court date is set for June 5 of this year in Nashville to discuss future testing processes.
“The new rules would require testing for the delta-9 produced when THCA is heated,” according to Tennessee Lookout. Until then, hemp will continue to be sold legally in Tennessee, and there will be no changes made within the testing process.
“The key point is that if it is hemp-derived and it is 0.3% or less than THC, it should be legal, but sometimes it is hard to run those tests and figure it out,” Sharma said. “We saw a seizure in a nearby county of a large swath of product that turned out to be legal, but by the time that officers and crime labs processed the evidence, the product had spoiled, and the store was getting back taintless or useless product at that point.”
Another alternative to marijuana that is legal in Tennessee is synthetic hemp, which can be confused with hemp. Sharma explains that synthetic hemp is created in laboratories but has similar effects to hemp.
“Whether that should be legal under the federal hemp policies is an ongoing question for courts to confirm,” Sharma said.
As states become more progressive around us, Tennessee could be seen in the future to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes. Until that happens, marijuana usage in Tennessee will remain illegal for recreational use, and as of now, it remains illegal for medicinal use as well.
”}]] The legality of marijuana in the United States was not federally made until 1937 with the passing of The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. According to Data Collaborative for Justice, Read More
