New Jersey, TN lawmakers tour Colorado cannabis industry

Be at the forefront of cannabis and psychedelics science and innovation. Register by March 14 & Save $100 on tickets to The Emerald Conference by MJBiz Science, April 1-3 in San Diego.


State lawmakers from Tennessee and New Jersey have traveled to Colorado recently to glean insights from the medical and recreational marijuana industries there and investigate the potential economic benefits for their own states.

The visits are expected to fuel efforts to pass legislation next year expanding MMJ in Tennessee and establishing adult-use cannabis in New Jersey.

According to news reports, Tennessee state Rep. Jeremy Faison paid his own way to travel to Colorado to meet with families who have moved from his state to Colorado for cannabis. He also met with military veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, medical professionals and farmers, and he toured MMJ grow operations.

“Farmers will be able to benefit greatly, and if our farmers benefit, everyone benefits,” Faison told WBIR.

Meanwhile, nine lawmakers from New Jersey, including the Senate president and Assembly majority leader, also visited the Centennial State. They met legislators, members of Gov. John Hickenlooper’s administration, health officials, farm and dispensary owners, as well as the people who drafted Colorado’s adultuse cannabis amendment, according to NJ.com.

“This is not a joke,” Scutari told NJ.com. “This is big money, and it’s great savings to the state.”

New Jersey’s medical marijuana program has been growing, despite challenges. In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law legislation in 2015 that permitted the use of cannabis oil to treat certain medical problems. But the state lacks a full-fledged MMJ program.