Category: News

A push to legalize medical marijuana in Tennessee has been dropped from consideration this year.
Sen. Steve Dickerson of Nashville told a committee Wednesday that he will delay his bill until 2020.
The legislation would have allowed sprays, pills, ointments and other non-smoking forms of marijuana for people with certain debilitating conditions, ranging from cancer to multiple sclerosis.
It also spelled out a comprehensive regulatory setup for growing, processing and dispensing, and an identification card system for patients.
Dickerson, a medical doctor, said some of the statements from law enforcement against the bill were inflammatory, misleading and disingenuous. He said he believes Tennessee will soon embrace medical cannabis.
Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma), was the co-sponsor of legislation to allow Tennesseans to receive medical cannabis under the care of a physician and pharmacist.
The legislation has failed in recent years, including in 2018 with the support of then-House Speaker Beth Harwell.

As a part of his audio/visual production classes, Scott Anderson, a teacher at Coffee County High School had his students create a 60-second public service announcement for the Operation Prevention video challenge.
Operation Prevention is a program created by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Discovery Education to help lessen the epidemic of the abuse of prescription drugs. Their goal is to jump-start a life-altering conversation about the dangers of abusing opioids and the damage it can cause to a life. The video challenge in which the A/V classes participated was to create the video informing the audience about the harmfulness of opioid abuse.
One of the groups from the level 3 class – consisting of Dalton Sherrill, Jackson Hamm, Brian Wang, and Yanely Luna – were selected as a finalist to be voted on in the program’s public voting period. Voting for their video is going on now.
Mr. Anderson told WMSR News that he is very proud of his students and those who produced the video:
Anderson added that he challenged his students because Murfreesboro Oakland students were also creating a video and they stepped up to the challenge, being chosen as a finalist:
The A/V students would like for us to vote as often as possible. There is one vote allowed per IP address per day. The school shares one IP address so it would be most helpful for students, faculty, and staff to vote outside of school. The public can also vote. Voting ends April 25. Everyone can vote for “What Could’ve Been” now! https://www.operationprevention.com/vote

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) mobile household hazardous waste collection service will be in Coffee, Sevier and Weakley counties on Saturday, April 13.
Tennesseans are encouraged to bring household hazardous waste – including cleaning fluids, pesticides, batteries and more – to a designated drop-off location. A person does not need to live in the county to participate.
The drop-off location is:
Coffee County – Solid Waste Department, 2180 Murfreesboro Hwy, Manchester, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. CDT. The local contact is Wannella Ingleburger at (931) 723-5139.
Household hazardous waste materials are considered flammable, toxic, reactive and/or corrosive and should not be placed with regular garbage. Typical items to dispose of include cleaning fluids, pesticides, mercury thermometers and thermostats, fluorescent lamps, lithium and button batteries, aerosols, adhesives, medications, brake fluid, swimming pool chemicals, paint thinner and used needles in sturdy containers. Items not accepted include ammunition, explosives, alkaline batteries, paint, electronics and any empty containers that should be disposed in normal trash.
While household waste may be disposed for free, there is a cost for disposal of Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator Waste (i.e. wastes from non-household sources such as businesses, schools, farms, churches, etc.) Call (615) 643-3170 to request a price quote and schedule an appointment.
When transporting materials to the site, place containers in sturdy boxes lined with newspaper to prevent spills and cross-contamination in the trunk of a car or back of a truck. Be sure to keep materials away from children and pets.
For more information on the household hazardous waste mobile collection service, please call 1-800-287-9013.

A handful of high-profile proposals in Tennessee are being stopped as state lawmakers slowly inch closer to adjourning their legislative session for the year.
On Tuesday, Republican members on a Senate panel rejected a resolution seeking to commemorate “Gun Violence Awareness Day” in Tennessee after little discussion.
That same panel also agreed to push off debating a proposal that would make it easier for some felons to get their voting rights restored- effectively killing the issue for this year. Lawmakers could try again next year.
Similarly, a House panel is putting off voting on a proposal that would have allowed courts to punish people for making too many inquiries deemed as harassment.
Both delayed addressing the proposals until 2020.
GOP leaders say the General Assembly could adjourn by May 2.

A bill that would require more Tennessee small businesses to use the E-Verify program to screen whether workers have legal immigration status to work in the U.S. has passed the state House.
The House passed Rep. Bruce Griffey’s bill Monday. It still needs to pass multiple Senate hurdles.
The legislation would decrease the number of employees that a business must have from 50 to 25 to face the E-Verify requirement. It also would extend the mandate to governmental entities. The changes would take effect for new hires starting in January 2020.
Griffey has seen a slate of other immigration bills fail. One voted down Tuesday would have required people preparing birth certificates to verify that the child’s parents are in the country legally and mark it on the document.