Death Row Butchers, Medical Cannabis & Vets
Submitted by Brandon Puttbrese, for the State Dems
October 1, 2026, 11:17 a.m.

National news breaking from Tennessee death row today… The GOP's medical cannabis plan snubs veterans… Tennessee's economic growth slowed in Q2. U.S. corporate profits hit all-time high.

Second death row inmate survives state execution in Tennessee

• Gov. Bill Lee’s Correction Department failed yesterday to execute a woman after administering two supposedly lethal doses of pentobarbital.

• It’s the second time a death row inmate in Tennessee survived their execution in five months.

• This horrific and unacceptable outcome will be another stain of national embarrassment on Tennessee.

CONTEXT: Gov. Lee’s correction chief Frank Strada once oversaw executions in Arizona where similar death row errors occurred.

GOP’s medical cannabis plan shuts outs veterans

9 a.m. - Senate Judiciary Committee - Agenda & Watch

• The Senate Judiciary Committee will again today for a summer study of legislation to create a medical marijuana program in Tennessee. Any progress on cannabis reform is welcome, but the Republican proposal is designed to keep most patients out.

The bill’s biggest failure is that it is too narrow with only nine qualifying conditions: Alzheimer's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, epilepsy or seizures, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, HIV or AIDS, and sickle cell disease.

Who's left out? Veterans. The list does not include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety or chronic pain. Those are some of the most common reasons veterans seek medical cannabis in other states, according to Disabled American Veterans, a nonprofit that provides support to wounded and injured veterans. 

Tennessee is home to more than 400,000 veterans, many of whom live with chronic pain and mental health conditions. Under this bill, most of them would still be shut out of the state’s medical cannabis program.

1.7%: Tennessee’s economic growth slowed in Q2

Sept. 30, 2026 - Bureau of Economic Analysis - State quarterly gross domestic product

• Tennessee’s economic growth slowed down in the second quarter, new federal data shows.

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis issued Sept. 30 its final reading of second-quarter GDP, which showed Tennessee’s economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.7% in the three-month period including April, May and June.

• In the first quarter of 2026, the state economy grew at an annualized rate of 3.5%. 

Corporate profits hit a new all-time high: BEA