NASHVILLE – The House Health and Human Resources Committee today approved legislation urging the state boards of pharmacy and medical examiners to study issues related to the medical use of marijuana.
The committee also wants state sheriffs and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to examine the issues.
Findings would be reported back to the General Assembly by Feb. 15, 2011.
Committee members approved the bill on a voice vote, allowing it to move on to the House Finance Committee. It has yet to begin moving in the Senate.
Proponents credited a lobbying effort on Monday by 25-year-old Red Bank resident John Donovan, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, with helping rescue the study proposal in the House committee. Mr. Donovan said he uses marijuana to relieve pain without inducing nausea.