TN lawmakers back in session; hot topics include marijuana laws, opioid abuse

JACKSON, Tenn. — State lawmakers returned to Nashville Tuesday for the second half of the 110th General Assembly.

State lawmakers said legalizing marijuana is a hot issue they expect to come up this legislative session.

“I don’t want to say I’m going to support it or I’m against it until I know all the facts of both sides of it,” Rep. Jimmy Eldridge, R-Jackson, said.

Rep. Johnny Shaw, D-Bolivar, said he is OK with marijuana for medicinal purposes.

“Anything we can do to help people get their healing through sickness, that’s one thing, but I would have to have a long discussion about just legalizing marijuana in general,” he said.

Sen. Ed Jackson, R-Jackson, called marijuana a gateway drug.

“There are some merits to I guess some medical cannabis, but it’s got a long way to go to be controlled where it doesn’t become rampant and just a recreational drug,” he said.

Legislative leaders said a main focus this year will be opioid abuse.

“Too many people get caught up on it and it ruins their lives and it ruins their family’s lives,” Eldridge said. “It affects everybody.”

With the state’s low unemployment rate, Jackson said they also plan to focus on education, emphasizing community colleges and two-year degrees as well as Tennessee College of Applied Technology.

“It’s hard to find people that are qualified to take these jobs, so we’re having to train people for these future jobs that are coming in,” Jackson said.

Shaw said he plans to push criminal justice reform.

“So many people have got issues on their records that need to come off that’s been on there for 10 to 15 years,” he said.

“About 40 percent of the people in our state prisons have mental issues along with either drugs or alcohol, other issues that cause them to be in the state penitentiary,” Jackson said. “We’re going to address and try to help people in a different way instead of just incarcerating them in a hard bed.”

Lawmakers said they expect this to be a short session because of the upcoming elections.

Jackson, Eldridge and Shaw are up for re-election this year. Lawmakers cannot raise funds during the session. The candidate filing deadline is April 5. The primary is Aug. 2.