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The Status Of Tennessee Marijuana Legalization

By Helene Norris


Tennessee, in the southeastern part of what is now the United States, entered into the union as the 16th state in June of 1796. It flipflopped in and out of the Union during the Civil War, when it joined the confederacy and was the very first state to be reunited when the war was over. The state's political stance tends to be mostly conservative, as witnessed by the fact that on only four occasions out of the past 14 did a Democratic win the state's support in the American presidential election. This makes it all the more interesting that that the Volunteer State's congressman would support Tennessee marijuana legalization.

Democratic Representative Steve Cohen was one of the original sponsors of the "Respect State Marijuana Laws Act of 2013." While this bill will not legalize the use of cannabis outright, it will prohibit the federal government from interfering with the states' own decisions about this subject. It paves the way for states to write their own laws to decriminalize and ultimately legalize the drug.

While the state capital is the city of Nashville, which is also regarded by many as the music capital of the world, it is Memphis, with a slightly larger population, that is the state's largest city. Tennessee is surrounded by eight other states. In no particular order, these are Georgia, Alabama, Missouri, Arkansas, North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia.

While the major metropolitan areas of the state are somewhat densely populated, most of the rest of the state's footprint is occupied by lush, green countryside. The Appalachian Mountains dominate the eastern one-third of the state. This mountain chain was formed during the Ordovician period, around 450 million years ago. The tallest peaks of the Appalachians used to be on a par with those in America's Rocky Mountain chain or the Alps in Europe but this is no longer true.

The state's highest point, at 6,643 feet in elevation, is called Clingmans Dome. It is also the highest point on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, also known as simply the Appalacian Trail or, even more simply, the A. T. A designated hiking trail, the A. T. Extends from Mount Katahdin in Main all the way down to Springer Mountain, Maine. The area falls under the wing of the National Park Service.

Politically and geographically speaking, the state is divided into three divisions: East, Middle and West. In terms of physiography, the state has six divisions: the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Appalachian Ridge, the Blue Ridge, the Highland Rim, Nashville Basin and Cumberland Plateau. The Volunteer State also holds the record for the most caves in a single state - 9,600 have been documented.

The Blue Ridge lies in the East division bordering North Carolina. Both the Iron Mountains and the Smokey Mountain Ridge, immortalized in the song about spaghetti and meatballs, lie within the Blue Ridge. The Cumberland Plateau is also located within this division. The Middle division houses the Highland Rim and the Nashville Basin. Finally, the West division is home to the Gulf Coastal Plain. The Gulf Coastal Plain is the dominant physiographic region in the state.

Perhaps somewhat contradictory to its general political tone, one of the state's members of the House of Representatives, Democrat Steve Cohen, was among the authors of a bill that is essentially in favor, or at least neutral to, the concept of Tennessee marijuana legalization. At the very least, the bill will remove federal interference in the states' individual rights to determine their own legislation on this highly controversial and important subject.




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