The Status Of Tennessee Marijuana Legalization

By Helene Norris


The southeastern state of Tennessee was the 16th state to enter into the union on June 17, 1796. It wobbled in and out during the Civil War and was the first state to be readmitted when the war was over. Politically speaking, the state can be described as conservative. This is illustrated by the fact that in only four of the last 14 presidential elections did the Democratic candidate carry the state. For this reason, it is somewhat remarkable that one of the state's congressmen would support Tennessee marijuana legalization.

Democratic Representative Steve Cohen was one of the original sponsors of the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013." While this bill will not legalize the use of cannabis outright, it will prohibit the federal government from interfering with the states' own decisions about this subject. It paves the way for states to write their own laws to decriminalize and ultimately legalize the drug.

Nicknamed The Volunteer State, Tennessee forms a border for eight other states. These are, in alphabetical order, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia. The world's music capital and the state capital is Nashville. However, with a slightly higher population of residents, Memphis is the number one largest city in the state.

Outside the major cities, Tennessee is a blissfully beautiful and green state. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern one-third. These were formed approximately 450 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. The peaks were once equal in height to those of the Rockies and the Alps but became eroded.

The highest point in the state is Clingmans Dome (6,643 feet), the highest point on the Appalachian Trail (AT). Also known as the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, the AT is a designated hiking trail extending from Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail is managed by the National Park Service.

Both geographically and politically, the state is broken down into three divisions: Middle, East and West. Physiographically speaking, there are six areas: the Cumberland Plateau, Nashville Basin, Highland Rim, Blue Ridge, the Appalachian and the Gulf Coastal Plain. In addition, the state has more documented caves, 9,600, than any other state in America.

The Gulf Coastal Plain, the dominant region of the entire state, lies in the West Division. The Middle is home to the Nashville Basin and the Highland Rim while the Cumberland Plateau and the Blue Ridge are in the East. Encompassed within Blue Ridge are a number of well-known ranges, specifically, the Iron Mountains and the Smokey Mountain Ridge, from which the songs "On Top of Old Smokey" and "On top of Spaghetti" were inspired.

Perhaps somewhat contradictory to its general political tone, one of the state's members of the House of Representatives, Democrat Steve Cohen, was among the authors of a bill that is essentially in favor, or at least neutral to, the concept of Tennessee marijuana legalization. At the very least, the bill will remove federal interference in the states' individual rights to determine their own legislation on this highly controversial and important subject.




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