Nashville among worst weed cities in US, study finds
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — In 2012, Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize recreational marijuana. Since then, 38 states have legalized marijuana for medical use, with 24 states—and the District of Columbia—legalizing it for recreational use.
In Tennessee, both medical and recreational marijuana use are illegal, and that doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
This year, Rep. Jesse Chism (D-Memphis) once again filed a bill that would add three nonbinding questions related to the legalization of marijuana on the November 2024 ballot. Chism attempted to get those questions on the ballot for all Tennesseans last year but the bill failed in a House subcommittee. This year the bill didn’t make it out of a Senate subcommittee and was taken off notice in the House.
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Given the status of marijuana’s legality in the Volunteer State, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that in a recent study from Clever Real Estate looking at the best and worst weed cities in the US, two Tennessee locations ranked among the worst.
Based on the research, Nashville was named the 6th worst city for marijuana—the same spot Music City ranked in the 2023 report. Memphis landed at 9th on the list.
According to the data, Nashville has 0.9 dispensaries per 100,000 residents. By comparison, the national average is 2.4.
Clever found the average price for an ounce of “high-quality marijuana” is about $318. In Nashville, one ounce of “high-quality” weed costs residents an average of $363.55, which is 14% higher than the national average.
MAP | Where marijuana is and isn’t legal in the US
The study also ranked cities by their “Pot Passion” scores (which is based on Google Trends data for 12 cannabis search terms made over a 12-month period). Nashville’s score (51) is 16 points below the national average of 67.
Recreational marijuana is illegal in all of the bottom 10 cities. Medical marijuana is illegal in nine of the cities as well. The only place where marijuana is currently legal for medical use is Birmingham, Alabama, which was named the 5th worst weed city in the US this year. But that is a better ranking for the Magic City than in 2023 where it landed at the top of the list.
Tennessee’s other city on the list—Memphis—came in at 9th. While Nashville claimed the 6th spot again this year, the Home of the Blues dropped seven spots from the 2023 list where it was named the 2nd worst pot city in the country.
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Louisville, Kentucky, was named as the worst weed city for 2024, but the Bluegrass State will soon have legal marijuana for medical purposes. Last year, Gov. Andy Beshear signed Senate Bill 47 which legalizes medical cannabis in the commonwealth starting Jan. 1, 2025.
On the flip side, Denver was named the best weed city in the US. It reclaimed the title from last year’s #1 city Portland, Oregon, which fell to 2nd.
You can see the full list of best and worst weed cities here.
Will marijuana ever be legal in Tennessee?
Tennessee is surrounded by eight states; six of those states have legalized marijuana use in some form.
Despite extremely high support, cannabis is still outlawed in Tennessee. Currently, cannabis is on the same schedule as heroin, LSD, and peyote, and the federal government cannot study it. If it were to move down to Schedule II or III, that would change.
For context, fentanyl is a Schedule II drug.
There’s been a push from Republicans and Democrats alike to change the scheduling status of cannabis in Tennessee.
“When the federal level does what it has to do, I think our state will be a little more flexible,” Rep. Torrey Harris (D-Memphis) told WKRN News 2’s Chris O’Brien last month. “Some of those changes, not everyone will be adherent to it, but if it does change, then at least we’ll follow what the law says.”
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According to Pew Research Center, 88% of US adults believe marijuana should be legal in some form.
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