Tennessee Medication Therapy Monitoring and Management Act of 2010 delayed AGAIN this week ...... by doobies ???

Yep. You read the headline correctly. This week The Tennessee Medication Monitoring and Management Act of 2010 (HB 2655) was delayed AGAIN. However, it wasn't the rabid animals fault THIS time. It was doobies. Yes, marijuana, wacky weed, grass, Mary Jane, or whatever else you want to call it.

The Tennessee House Health and Human Resources Committee spent 60 of the 90 minutes allotted for their meeting discussing the Safe Access to Medical Cannabis Act (HB 2562) and never got to HB 2655. Why ?? Apparently, studies show it is an effective treatment for people with certain medical conditions such as cancer. However, as I sat patiently and listened to the presentation given by one of the witnesses, I realized that wasn't it. The witness showed a couple of slides about the financial impacts that medical marijuana will have in Tennessee. His projection is that in the second year after it is legalized, it will bring in $450 Million worth of additional revenue. The state will regulate it and in turn receive 20% of the revenue. That works out to $90 Million. It's all about the money just like most everything else nowadays. The Tennessee Therapy Monitoring and Management Act of 2010 has the potential to save lives but doesn't generate any revenue. So .... it gets put on the back burner. Interesting.

Now, before somebody says, "Oh, you just sore because the bill you are interested in isn't making progress." Yeah. I am getting a little ticked because it's being delayed for no logical reason. However, even before this, I did not support medical marijuana. I believe that just as ObamaCare is a back door to a single payer health care system leading to poor quality care and discrimination by rationing, the legalization of medical marijuana is nothing but a backdoor to legalizing the sale, possession, and use of marijuana nationwide for everyone. Won't it be great to have this narcotic legal everywhere ?? Many of the lefties that support the legalization of marijuana are the same ones that oppose concealed carry permit holders from carrying in restaurants that serve alcohol. Doesn't make any sense. Oh ... it just hit me. I bet it will be legal to carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol if you have a prescription for and are using medical "weed." But I digress.

Kinda takes me back to 1989 and Motley Crue's hit Dr. Feelgood. I'm sure Tommy, Vince, Nikki, and Mick would be proud if we re-arranged the lyrics, kinda like Weird Al Yankovich does, to the chorus and make it the new state song - Tennessee Feelgood :

Tennessee's the one they call Feelgood,
Tennessee's the one that makes ya feel all right,
Tennessee's the one they call Feelgood .....

Absolutely unbelievable. We'll try to get HB 2655 through committee again next week - Tuesday, April 20, 10:30 a.m., Legislative Plaza, Room 16.