NASHVILLE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Beth Harwell is putting her support for legalizing physician-prescribed medical cannabis front and center in the closing weeks of Tennessee's GOP primary as she seeks to distinguish herself from the rest of the field.
Calling it an "issue of dignity of life for many Tennesseans suffering debilitating illnesses and injuries," the state House speaker said at a news conference Friday that "too many Tennesseans are suffering in pain with dangerous opioids as their only option.
"This includes children suffering from seizures, cancer patients, our veterans and the elderly," she added, noting that President Donald Trump voiced his support for medical cannabis and "leaving the decision up to state governments."
Harwell's comments came as her campaign begins airing a new 30-second television spot that touts her position. Accompanying her were Nashville physicians Jeff Cook and Bruce Wolf, who back her position.
In the ad, Harwell says "I just now if it were my loved one, I would want that option. Opioids must not be our only option for those in pain.
"President Trump," agrees, Harwell continues with the ad then shifting to news footage of the president saying, "I think medical should happen."
Harwell helped lead an effort in this year's General Assembly session to legalize a tightly regulated medical marijuana process. While the bill moved in the House, it was resisted by Senate Republican leaders.
The speaker said she in no way favors recreational use of cannabis or smoking marijuana. And she also noted that what she is advocating for are the "use of oils and additives that have been found to provide medical benefits."
Harwell's Republican rivals - U.S. Rep. Diane Black of Gallatin, Knoxville entrepreneur and former state economic commissioner Randy Boyd and Williamson County businessman Bill Lee - have all said they oppose medical marijuana.
Black has called marijuana a "gateway drug" that "does lead" users to "harder drugs."
"I reject that notion," Harwell told reporters. "If you want to talk about gateway drugs, let's talk about opioids."
Physicians Cook and Wolf agreed with the speaker with Cook saying "I commend Speaker Harwell for speaking up."
"Medical cannabis has never been shown in any study to be a 'gateway' drug," Wolf said.
Earlier this year, Black's husband, David Black, hired lobbyists to fight the medical cannabis bill in the Legislature.
David Black had founded a drug testing company, but the congressman told reporters that her husband no longer runs the company and pointed out her husband wrote his doctoral dissertation on the impacts of THC and passionately opposes legalization of marijuana in any manner.
Democrats Karl Dean, a former Nashville mayor, and state House Minority Leader Craig Fitzhugh of Ripley both back making medical marijuana legal in Tennessee.
Harwell said medical cannabis is raised by any number of voters she's encountered during the campaign, most recently during a swing through McMinn County on Thursday.
While polls have shown the speaker in fourth place, support for her has been on the upswing as Black and Boyd blast each other in their ads and increasingly, as Lee's standing began rising, have turned their fire on the Williamson County businessman.
Harwell said polls show her "absolutely getting closer every day."
Early voting in the Aug. 2 primary is now entering its second week.