Thoughts from the void: Cannabis and Tennessee

At least 35 US states have legalized cannabis for medical use so far. The federal US government however continues to keep cannabis in the Schedule 1 list of banned substances saying that it has no medicinal value. The list of US states that have legalized adult recreational cannabis is available here. All these states have legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, aimed specifically at improving public health, ensuring equity, reducing crime, decreasing the black market, improving law enforcement, reforming criminal justice, improving the economy, agriculture and industry, to name just a few reasons.

Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.

'Passage of the 2018 Farm Bill sparked both sharp nationwide increases in licensing and explosive sales growth for 2019.
The issuance of U.S. hemp-cultivation licenses saw a year-over-year, nationwide increase of 364% (from 3,546 in 2018 to 16,462 in 2019).
Small family farms’ entry to the space drove licensing booms in some states, while other states saw the arrival of Big Agriculture interests in their markets.
In 2019, Tennessee led the trend with 3,200 new licenses, marking more than a 13x increase over its 226 in 2018. Conversely, Montana’s comparatively low 277 licenses in 2019 represent nearly 40,000 acres, averaging a Big Ag-style footprint of more than 144 acres apiece.
Traditional hemp states Colorado, Kentucky, and Oregon continue to lead in cultivation as the nation overall shows a projected 225,000 acres harvested in 2019, more than a 180% increase beyond 78,176 in 2018.'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/increases-in-state-issued-hemp-licenses/

Cannabit from New Frontier Data...

'The 29 U.S. states having reporting licensed hemp cultivation acreage total nearly half a million acres in combined cultivation land area, a massive increase over 2018’s combined U.S. total of just over 100,000 acres.
Colorado leads the nation in hemp cultivation and processing land area with over 80,000 acres reported.
Oregon, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Montana lead in hemp program expansion efforts.
Tennessee leads in total hemp licenses issued in 2019.
At least 70% of the 2019 U.S. hemp harvest is intended for extract production.
California is poised to be the top-producing hemp state for both conventional and organic production as thousands of acres have already been planted in 2019'

https://newfrontierdata.com/marijuana-insights/hemp-licenses-issued-by-state-2019/

'The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) approved hemp regulatory plans from Minnesota, Tennessee and Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

This latest development brings the total number of approved plans across states, territories and Indian tribes to 53.

“We thank USDA for their work on this new federal hemp program, and we are grateful they have approved Minnesota’s plan,” Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said. “While this is a major step forward, there are still concerns over some the regulations imposed on states and tribal governments, such as testing requirements. We look forward to continuing our dialog with USDA so we can ensure Minnesota’s hemp growers and processors are successful in this fledging industry.”'

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-approves-hemp-plan-for-minnesota-tennessee-and-puerto-rico/

Republicans are working themselves into a nice tight corner, looks like...though with Biden on the other side, there's not much to lose...

'A Tennessee lawmaker blocked a resolution to honor the life of a 17-year-old black girl who was fatally shot in April because, he said, she was allegedly involved in a low-level marijuana sale prior to her death.

Rep. William Lamberth (R) said on the House floor on Tuesday that he couldn’t support the measure because of what “led to this young lady’s untimely demise,” referencing police reports that Ashanti Posey and a friend were involved in a cannabis sale before she was killed in her car.

The joint resolution, which had already passed the Senate and required unanimity, failed in the House in a 45-1 vote.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/tennessee-lawmaker-blocks-resolution-to-honor-murdered-teen-over-alleged-marijuana-sale/

'In a statement issued last week by District Attorney Glenn Funk, he said that activities involving the possession of up to one-half ounce of cannabis will no longer be prosecuted by county officials. “Marijuana charges do little to promote public health, and even less to promote public safety,” he said.'
https://norml.org/news/2020/07/09/tennessee-davidson-county-district-attorney-ceasing-low-level-marijuana-prosecutions