Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission (TMCC)

Legal Disclaimer: This information reflects Tennessee cannabis law as of June 2026 and is for educational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Laws and regulations change — always verify current rules with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC, lead agency for hemp-derived cannabinoid products as of January 1, 2026 under Public Chapter 526 of 2025); Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA, legacy hemp licenses through June 30, 2026); Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission (TMCC, study-only); Tennessee Department of Health (CBD-oil framework administration) or a qualified attorney. Cannabis remains illegal under federal law.

Last verified: May 2026

Origin and Statutory Charge

The TMCC was created by 2021 Tennessee Public Acts, Chapter 577 (HB 1164 / SB 118), signed by Gov. Bill Lee on May 27, 2021, and codified at T.C.A. §§ 68-7-101 to 68-7-104. The same act expanded the state’s narrow CBD-oil law to include nine qualifying conditions and increased the allowable THC content from 0.6% to 0.9%.

The Commission’s charge under T.C.A. § 68-7-102(a) is to "serve as a resource for the study of federal and state laws regarding medical cannabis and the preparation of legislation to establish an effective, patient-focused medical cannabis program in this state upon the rescheduling or descheduling of marijuana from Schedule I of the federal Controlled Substances Act." The italicized clause is the trigger: until federal rescheduling, the Commission can study but cannot license, regulate, or operate a program. Even after President Trump’s December 2025 executive order moving cannabis to federal Schedule III, Tennessee passed Senate Bill 1603 in April 2026 stripping the state Health and Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services commissioners of authority to similarly reschedule under state law without legislative approval.

Program element	Detail
Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission (TMCC) — T.C.A. §§ 68-7-101 to 68-7-104
Created	2021 Tennessee Public Acts, Chapter 577 (HB 1164 / SB 118; signed by Gov. Lee May 27, 2021)
Function	Study-only body; no licensing, regulation, or operation authority until federal rescheduling/descheduling
Sunset extended	June 30, 2029 (Public Chapter 50 of 2025; SB 77)
Members	9 total: 3 Governor (Lee), 3 Senate Speaker (Lt. Gov. McNally), 3 House Speaker (Sexton); 4-year terms
Current Chair	Curtis R. Harrington II (attorney, Belcher Sykes Harrington PLLC, Nashville; succeeded Dr. Steve Dickerson December 2022)
2024 meetings	1 (May 3, 2024) — quorum lost July 9, 2024 after sudden death of one member; restored ~November 2024
Recommendations adopted by GA	Zero, 2022–2025
SB 1603 (April 23, 2026)	Stripped state Health and Mental Health/Substance Abuse Services commissioners of state-rescheduling authority; redirected medical-cannabis-readiness study to TACIR (report due Nov 1, 2026)
CBD-oil affirmative defense — T.C.A. § 39-17-402(16)(F) and § 63-1-127
THC limit	< 0.9% delta-9 THC (raised from 0.6% by 2021 SB 118)
Status	Affirmative defense at trial, not legalization — the patient must prove eligibility after being charged
Qualifying conditions (9)	Alzheimer’s, ALS, cancer (end-stage / wasting), inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s, UC), epilepsy / intractable seizures, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell
Physician requirement	TN-licensed M.D. or D.O. letter (valid 6 months, renewable)
In-state production / sale	Not authorized — patients must travel to a reciprocal-program state and bring product back
Practical reach	Primarily families of children with intractable epilepsy, ALS, end-stage cancer; functionally inaccessible for chronic pain / PTSD / anxiety / most cancer patients

Sources: 2021 Tennessee Public Acts, Chapter 577; T.C.A. ch. 68-7; T.C.A. § 39-17-402(16)(F); T.C.A. § 63-1-127; TMCC 2025 Annual Report; Marijuana Policy Project. The TMCC’s law-enforcement and pharmacy-tilted membership has been criticized by reform advocates — TN NORML, the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Trade Association (TMCTA), and the Marijuana Policy Project — as structurally inhospitable to a functional medical program. The 2023 Public Chapter 258 amendment added a "qualifying patient" seat among the Governor’s appointments. The trigger clause — "upon the rescheduling or descheduling of marijuana from Schedule I" — remains gated even after President Trump’s December 2025 executive order moving cannabis to federal Schedule III, because Tennessee SB 1603 (April 2026) explicitly stripped commissioners’ authority to align state scheduling without legislative approval.

Membership Structure

Per T.C.A. § 68-7-103, the Commission has nine members serving four-year terms:

Three appointed by the Governor (Bill Lee, R)
Three appointed by the Speaker of the Senate (Lt. Gov. Randy McNally, R)
Three appointed by the Speaker of the House (Cameron Sexton, R)

The original 2021 roster, as documented in the Commission’s 2025 Annual Report:

Senate Speaker (Lt. Gov. McNally) appointees: Dr. Steve Dickerson (former state senator, R-Nashville, anesthesiologist; original Chair, resigned chairmanship in December 2022 after attendance issues); a District Attorney General surnamed "Johnson" (original Vice-Chair); Dr. Ray Marcrom (pharmacist, owner of Marcrom’s Pharmacy in Manchester).
House Speaker (Sexton) appointees: Dr. Barry Walton (pharmacist, owner of Mac’s Medicine Mart); Dr. Ana Lisa Carr (family medicine physician — removed under § 68-7-103(c)(1) for failing to attend more than 50% of meetings; her initial term ended June 30, 2025); David Griswold (Chief of Police, Nashville International Airport).
Governor (Lee) appointees: Paul Thomas (Sheriff, Gibson County — separately indicted in May 2024 on 22 counts including official misconduct, theft, and forgery per Tennessee Comptroller report); Cari Parker (former Vice President, Eastman Chemical Co.); Curtis R. Harrington II (attorney, Belcher Sykes Harrington PLLC, Nashville — currently serves as Chair following Dickerson’s resignation).

A 2023 amendment (Public Chapter 258) added a "qualifying patient" seat among the Governor’s appointments — the Commission’s only patient-advocate slot.

Structural Critique — Pharmacy and Police Heavy

The roster’s heavy law-enforcement and pharmacy tilt — with no patient-advocate or treating-clinician members until the 2023 amendment — has been criticized by reform advocates including TN NORML, the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Trade Association (TMCTA), and the Marijuana Policy Project as structurally inhospitable to a functional medical program. The Marijuana Policy Project notes that "none of the recommendations were taken up by the General Assembly in 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025." Critics — including former TMCTA leadership and Sen. Jeff Yarbro (D-Nashville) — characterize the Commission as a parking-space mechanism that allows legislative leaders to defer indefinitely to "the study" while taking no policy action.

Activity by Year

2021: 6 meetings (October–December).
2022: 6 meetings; first annual report recommended a "safe harbor" for qualified patients with a health-care provider letter, allowing oils, tinctures, patches, edibles, vapors, and waxes — but excluding dried botanical flower — and recommending employee protections and parental rights.
2023: 9 meetings; published a "Master Medical Cannabis Program Outline" examining open vs. limited license regimes, vertical integration vs. separate licenses, opt-in vs. opt-out for local governments, and which agency would have primary oversight (the Commission leaned toward the Tennessee Department of Health).
2024: Only 1 meeting (May 3, 2024). Per the Commission’s own 2025 report: "On July 9, 2024, one (1) of the Commission members suddenly and unexpectedly passed away. This loss caused the Commission to not have enough active, participating members to constitute a quorum for a majority of the 2024 calendar year." A quorum returned around November 2024.
2025: Public Chapter 50 of 2025 (SB 77) extended the sunset to June 30, 2029. The Commission’s report acknowledged it "expects to resume regular meetings in 2025."

Zero Recommendations Adopted

No recommendation made by the Commission in any of its annual reports has been adopted by the General Assembly. The 2022 "safe harbor" framework, the 2023 "Master Outline," and subsequent guidance have all sat unused. This pattern is the structural reality reform advocates point to when arguing the TMCC is functionally a holding pattern rather than a path forward.

The TACIR Layered Study (April 2026)

Spring 2026 development: SB 1603 (signed April 23, 2026, sponsored by Sen. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville), in addition to stripping the Health and MH&SAS commissioners of state-rescheduling authority, redirected the medical-cannabis-readiness question to the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR), which was directed to study state and local government "operational readiness" for a medical cannabis program and report by November 1, 2026 — effectively layering a second study on top of the existing study commission. See the TACIR readiness-study page.

What the TMCC Cannot Do

It is essential to understand the structural limit. The TMCC cannot:

Issue dispensary, cultivation, manufacturing, or laboratory licenses.
Promulgate operational regulations (cultivation, testing, packaging, advertising, etc.).
Register patients or maintain a qualifying-patient registry.
Issue physician certifications.
Authorize possession beyond the existing CBD-oil affirmative defense.
Override the § 39-17-415 Schedule VI prohibition.

What it can do: hold meetings, take public testimony, study other states’ programs, and publish reports recommending that the General Assembly enact specific legislation. None of those reports has resulted in legislative action.

Where the TMCC Sits Geographically

The TMCC’s administrative home is the Cordell Hull Building, 425 Rep. John Lewis Way North, Nashville, TN 37243. Meeting agendas, minutes, annual reports, and meeting-stream archives are typically posted via the Tennessee Department of Health, which provides administrative support for the Commission.