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US: Tennessee Lawmakers Relaunch 'Pot For Potholes' Campaign To Legalize Cannabis Dario Sabaghi Forbes Wednesday 11 Mar 2026 The campaign, which was launched last week, is supported by a bill sponsored by Senator Heidi Campbell and Representative Aftyn Behn, both Democrats from Nashville. The bill would legalise the purchase of cannabis by adults over the age of 21, with the resulting tax revenue being used to fund transportation projects. The bill would allow the legal possession of up to 60 grams of cannabis and up to 15 grams of concentrates, as well as the cultivation of up to 12 cannabis plants per household. It also aims to decriminalize cannabis use under certain circumstances, while establishing a regulatory framework for its cultivation, transportation, research, processing, and distribution. To fund infrastructure projects, the proposal imposes a 15% tax on cannabis sales. Most of the revenue from this tax will be allocated to the state highway fund. The move aims to address Tennessee’s transportation funding needs and, at the same time, legalize the use of recreational cannabis, which is currently illegal in the state. Tennessee is one of the few states that remained without a medical cannabis program, although hemp products with low THC content are allowed. This is not the first time Sen. Campbell and Rep. Behn have teamed up to push for the legalization of cannabis. They introduced similar legislation in the Tennessee House and Senate last year, but it was unsuccessful. The Pot for Potholes Act was voted down by the House Criminal Justice Subcommittee in March last year. This time, however, Rep. Behn said, in an interview with Action News 5, that a change in leadership at the state level and a growing national push towards the decriminalization of cannabis could give the bill a better chance of success Cannabis Taxes Fuel Billions The 'Pot for Potholes’ campaign is releasing a series of promotional videos. In one of these, Rep. Behn says, "Instead of a $58 billion backlog, we could legalize cannabis, tax it, and pave our roads. Other states have done it, and so can we,” referring to states such as Michigan, Arizona, and Massachusetts, which use part of their cannabis tax revenue for highway and road improvement programs. The 'Pot for Potholes' slogan was also used during the 2022 Missouri U.S. Senate Republican primary, when candidate C.W. Gardner suggested legalizing cannabis at the federal level and using the resulting tax revenue to repair potholes and infrastructure. That same year, Missouri voters passed Amendment 3, which legalized adult-use cannabis, but it was unrelated to Gardner’s campaign. Campaigners for the 'Pot for Potholes' initiative in Tennessee have also taken Massachusetts as a model, as it has a population almost identical to Tennessee's, which is around 7 million. Last year, Massachusetts recorded $289 million in state tax revenue from cannabis in 2025. Taxes related to cannabis sales have generated billions of dollars in revenue for U.S. states that have legalized the drug over the years. The legal cannabis market generated more than $4.4 billion in 2024, according to a Marijuana Policy Project’s report. California generated the most revenue, with over $1 billion, followed by Illinois with $578 million and Michigan with $524 million. The reports also indicated that since 2014, when Colorado and Washington became the first two states to regulate the adult-use cannabis market, states have collectively generated nearly $25 billion in tax revenue from the sale of cannabis products. https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2026/03/11/tennessee-lawmakers-relaunch-pot-for-potholes-campaign-to-legalize-cannabis/
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