Senator Pody Wants to Hear from Constituents on Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana

February 16, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Should medical marijuana be legalized in Tennessee?

State Senator Mark Pody wants to know what you think.

State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) introduced a bill earlier this month that would pave the way for legalized medical marijuana across the state.

If passed, the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Act would create a framework to allow “qualified” patients to access medical cannabis on a regular basis, as well as regulate the process of licensing growers to cultivate, produce, distribute, transport, sell and acquire marijuana for medical use and scientific research.

“People say different things about what the definition of medical marijuana is. Some people believe if they are a little bit stressed they should be able to smoke a little marijuana to relieve the stress and those people call that medical marijuana. Others say the hemp oils and related products are currently enough. I am anxious to hear what the people of DeKalb County think the appropriate legalization of any of this should be. I have always been against anything that you can get high from but if it helps kids medically for seizures for example, I have been okay with that,” said Senator Pody.

Senator Bowling’s bill proposes that patients with “qualifying conditions” diagnosed by their healthcare provider would be able to apply for a medical cannabis card for $65 that expires every two years. An approved caregiver can also be appointed to purchase marijuana for patients under 18

The “qualified conditions” listed in the bill are Cancer, Glaucoma, Epilepsy, HIV/AIDS, Crohn’s Disease, Muscular sclerosis, Opioid addiction, Renal failure, Severe nausea or chronic pain, Any medical condition producing cachexia, persistent muscle spasm or seizure, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Chronic radiculopathy, Severe psoriasis, Post-laminectomy syndrome, Psoriatic arthritis, Complex pain syndrome, including trigeminal neuralgia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson’s disease, End-of-life pain management or palliative care, All “terminal” conditions, and any conditions approved by the commission pursuant to rule-making

For patients under 18 years old, the following conditions also apply: Cerebral palsy, Cystic fibrosis, Osteogenesis imperfecta, and Muscular dystrophy

The bill stipulates that, if passed, the program should be operational by no later than July 30, 2020.

Send correspondence to Senator Pody at

425 5th Avenue North
Suite 754 Cordell Hull Bldg.
Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: (615) 741-2421
Fax: (615) 253-0205

February 15, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The DCHS Lady Tigers came close but could not swat the Lady Bees of Upperman and lost 36 to 28 in the semi-finals of the District 8AA basketball tournament Friday at Tennessee Tech.

With the loss, the Lady Tigers are now in the consolation game of the tournament and will meet York Institute for third place Monday night at 6 p.m. at Tech.

York Institute lost to Macon County in the other semi-final game Friday night 46 to32. Macon County and Upperman, the number 1 & 2 seeds respectively will play for the girls district tournament championship Monday night following the consolation game at 7:30 p.m. at Tech.

In the game Friday, DC trailed Upperman 6 to 5 after the 1^st period, 24 to 15 at halftime, and 30 to 21 after the 3^rd period before falling 36 to 28.

Kadee Ferrell scored 9, Lydia Brown 6, Emme Colwell and Mya Ruch each with 5 and Joni Robinson with 3.

In the boys semi-finals games Friday night, Livingston Academy defeated Watertown 60 to 55 and Upperman beat York Institute 61 to 57. Livingston Academy and Upperman will battle for the District Tournament Championship Tuesday night, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. In the consolation game, York Institute will face Watertown for third place at 6 p.m. Tuesday night at Tennessee Tech

February 14, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

Family Read Nights are underway at Smithville Elementary, DeKalb West, and Northside Elementary as part of the Accelerated Reader Program.

Read Nights give parents an opportunity to spend quality time reading with their children on designated days and times after school. Other family members may also participate in reading with the students.

IMG_4328 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Ana Jarvis, an English as a second language (ESL) teacher at Smithville Elementary School who assists Librarian Jane Ramsey with Family Read Night said parents can bring their children to SES every Wednesday and Thursday through mid April and stay as long as they wish from 3-6 p.m. on those days.

“The children can practice their reading. Parents can read to them. The students take a quiz and we have prizes for them if they score 100%. Every month we give them a prize. We have some levels for points during the program. We give them prizes and the grand prize at the end of the program is a field trip to Greenbrook Park. We also have awards for those who read the most and scored the most points. They can become Principal or Librarian for a day,” said Jarvis.

Accelerated Reader is a computerized program that tests reading comprehension. Students select books on their reading level, read independently, and take an independent comprehension test on the computer. Each book is worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level. Students get a percentage of these points based on how many of the test questions they get right. The program tracks their progress over the course of the school year.

Check with your child’s school for a Family Read Night schedule.

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