By Sam Stockard, Tennessee Lookout
Tennessee's ban on widely sold hemp products took effect Wednesday, prompting two Nashville Democrats to renew their push for full marijuana legalization, with revenue earmarked for road repairs statewide.
Sen. Heidi Campbell and Rep. Aftyn Behn back the "Pot for Potholes Act," which would legalize cannabis, set up regulation, and direct proceeds toward highway and bridge maintenance. The bill has stalled in the Republican-led legislature, but both lawmakers plan to seek hearings and reintroduce it in 2027.
The push coincides with a federal rescheduling process reclassifying medical marijuana away from drugs like heroin and cocaine when used in FDA-approved products or allowed by state law. Recreational marijuana remains Schedule I federally, defined as having no accepted medical use and high abuse potential, though 24 states have legalized it and more allow medical use.
Under 2025 legislation, retailers must remove THCA products from shelves, seven years after lawmakers expanded the hemp market that let cannabis shops open statewide. THCA products contain under 0.3 percent THC but produce higher psychoactive effects when burned, prompting some legislators to argue the state had inadvertently created a legal marijuana market.
The ban proceeds despite estimates it will cost the state $180 million in revenue, and critics warn it will effectively end Tennessee's hemp industry.
Campbell said Tuesday that residents relying on hemp products for pain, anxiety, and chronic conditions will lose access, while compliant small businesses will be forced to close. "Republicans didn't make cannabis go away—they just made it unsafe and untaxed," she said. "People will still find it, whether that means driving to Illinois or buying from someone with no license and no lab test."
The Pot for Potholes Act would let adults 21 and older use marijuana legally, require state licensing for cultivation, testing and sales, and impose a 15 percent sales tax, with revenue targeting a $58 billion backlog of highway and bridge projects.
Behn called the ban "a self-inflicted wound," saying it undermines Tennessee small businesses and cuts off patients managing real medical conditions "so Republicans can score culture-war points." She said legal-cannabis states collectively generate $4.5 billion in tax revenue for schools and infrastructure.
After federal rescheduling last year, Sen. London Lamar (D-Memphis) and Rep. Jeremy Faison (R) called for state-level marijuana reform. Outgoing Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R), a pharmacist, said he has "no interest" in changing marijuana's status, calling it a "dangerous drug with little demonstrated medicinal efficacy."