For a while, Tennessee’s cannabis industry was smokin’ hot. Now it’s in the weeds.
A huge industry bloomed in the Volunteer State between Congress essentially legalizing THCa in 2018 and the Tennessee legislature regulating it in 2025. (Savannah Blake/AP file)
The United States Justice Department and the state of Tennessee are moving in different directions when it comes to legal cannabis.
The DOJ reclassified medical cannabis from a Schedule I drug to Schedule III on Thursday, April 23, the same day Tennessee lawmakers shut down the prospect of a special session on medical cannabis. The Tennessee General Assembly also this year voted down a bill that would legalize recreational use and passed a law stipulating that it would decide whether or not to reschedule the drug, not the Department of Mental Health and Drug Abuse.
“For years, Tennesseans have been told to wait,” state Rep. Jerome Powell, D-Nashville, said Thursday in proposing the special session. “We created a commission. We studied the issue. We have heard from patients, doctors and families across this state. At some point, we have to be willing to act.”
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Noah McLane
Noah McLane reports on the state house for The Daily Memphian. He was born and raised in Tennessee and attended journalism school at Middle Tennessee State University, where his passion for community-focused storytelling began.
Prior to writing for The Daily Memphian, Noah was the editor-in-chief of his college newspaper, worked on general assignment for the Jackson Hole News & Guide in Jackson, Wyoming, and was most recently an editorial intern at the Nashville Scene.
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