In 2013, State Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby, hosted a team of researchers and administrators from Middle Tennessee State University who visited the Cosby woods, to dig for “Appalachian gold.”
The scientists were associated with the Tennessee Center for Botanical Medicine Research, who sought the help of Faison to collect samples of locally grown wild ginseng to compare with varieties of the herb found in China
Earlier this month House Speaker Beth Harwell led a delegation of Tennessee legislators to the campus, to learn more about the center’s research into nonpsychotropic cannabinoids, which are derived from hemp.
The school invited the lawmakers, including Faison, to detail the research under way and to describe the medicinal strides being made. The research would be pertinent if Tennessee expands on a medical cannabis patient program.
Faison has introduced legislation to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes in Tennessee. He is a major supporter of the ginseng initiative at the center and encouraged his fellow legislators and citizens “to move away from taboo and start saving lives” through hemp and medical marijuana research.
Dr. Elliot Altman, center director, discussed the overall success of the center and the growing hemp research. He and MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee led the tour, which included a stop in a room where a hemp plant was growing with the assistance of a very sophisticated ultraviolet light.
credit:news-herald.net
