A bill to legalize medical marijuana in Tennessee cleared a major hurdle on Wednesday, passing out of a state Senate committee. But that step forward may be accompanied by a step backwards, as the panel tacked on an amendment to the legislation that would almost certainly lead to a significant delay of its implementation .

Lawmakers in Tennessee’s House of Representatives have introduced a bill that would legalize the use of medicinal cannabis in the state. The measure, House Bill 637, would allow patients with one or more qualifying medical conditions to use medical marijuana and establish a regulatory framework for the production and distribution of medicinal cannabis products.

Legal pot in the land of Rocky Top? 

That’s what one Tennessee lawmaker is aiming to achieve in this year’s legislative session. State Sen. Raumesh Akbari filed legislation on Friday to permit the sale of marijuana. The bill calls for the new law to effect on July 1, which would bring Tennessee in line with 11 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana.

Akbari, a Memphis Democrat, said the new law would be both an economic boon and a victory for justice in the state.

Some lawmakers in Tennessee are hoping to introduce and pass medical marijuana legislation this year. To increase their chances for success, they are putting a lot of effort into educating law enforcement officials in the hopes of at least weakening their opposition to medical cannabis.

Cannabis culture includes a long, rich, and often times very interesting history of smuggling. And in many cases, these stories involve all sorts of creative methods for sneaking weed where it is not allowed.

Looks like this history has another incident to add to the books. This time, a man attempting to fly out of Nashville International Airport was caught with weed wrapped up to look like Christmas gifts.

Local lawmakers said they want more information before medical marijuana is legalized.

Officials say several medical marijuana bills are in development, but Knoxville and East Tennessee leaders said they want FDA approval before pursuing legalization.

Metro Drug Coalition Executive Director Karen Pershing is one of those leaders. The MDC is a joint effort by the City of Knoxville and Knox County meant to reduce drug and alcohol abuse.

"We feel like science should drive whether or not something becomes a medicine in this country," Pershing said. "And right now, there's not research to support that there is medicinal benefit to marijuana."

Pershing said the MDC is recommending against legalizing medical marijuana.

Tennessee legislators can’t get medical marijuana legislation passed to save their lives, but the state’s Bureau of Investigation has announced a new policy that may make it easier on cannabis consumers. The agency will stop testing quantities of marijuana that are under half an ounce.

The shift will supposedly make it prohibitively difficult for prosecutors to build a case against individuals charged with cannabis possession. Without evidence that the substance carried by individuals is cannabis, cops won’t have much to work with.

• 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.