Tennessee lawmakers to consider 3 cannabis bills next week 

Tennessee lawmakers are set to consider three cannabis-related bills next week, the Lynchburg Times reports. One bill, dubbed the Pot for Potholes Act, would legalize cannabis for adult use in the state and direct 75% of the revenues to the state highway fund. 

The Pot for Potholes Act would send 20% of cannabis-derived revenues to counties, with the remaining 5% earmarked for administrative costs related to regulating the cannabis industry. 

According to the Times, Tennessee has a $58 billion backlog in unfunded road projects, with traffic congestion costing residents an estimated $420 million and 17,000 hours annually. 

On Monday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will likely consider this bill. A similar bill introduced in the state last year was ultimately rejected.  

A pair of bills will also be considered by lawmakers that ask voters to decide whether medical marijuana should be legalized.

• In order to implement SB.2097, the Secretary would have to instruct each county to put a question on the ballot at the general elections in November asking voters if the state should be legalizing the possession, sale and use of medicinal cannabis.
• Three non-binding cannabis legalization questions would appear on ballots in November, with the result being purely advisory.  

Under the proposal, the legislature would be under no obligation to act on the questions. Rather, the Secretary of State would compile the results, publish them online, and forward them to members of the General Assembly.