WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WCYB) — For ten months, Betsy Michel has been fighting endometrial cancer, being first diagnosed in February. In July, she was showing signs of having a stroke. That’s when doctors found a tumor the size of a golf ball in her brain.

Since then, she’s undergone nearly 30 rounds of radiation and two rounds of chemotherapy with more on the way.

To get through the pain, the fatigue and the loss of appetite, Betsy turns to cannabis.

“If I couldn’t use cannabis, I would probably be just about dead. I would. I would feel like I’m dead,” Michel said.

With recent changes at both the federal and state level in Tennessee, the Betsy and her husband David fear losing their already limited access.

“It’s not going to hurt people. The only way it’s going to hurt you is if a big bale of it falls off a plane and hits you on the head,” David Michel said.

On the federal level, beginning in November of 2026, products will be defined by their total THC content, and they’ll be heavily regulated such as any hemp products intended for human or animal use can’t contain more than 0.4 mg of total THC per container.

There are also talks of reclassifying marijuana as a schedule three drug.

In Tennessee, hemp suppliers and retailers recently announced an agreement with the state over previously passed legislation that will extend the current regulatory laws for businesses until their licenses expire.

For lawmakers, the argument has, and remains, a need for harsher regulation.

For the Michels, the argument is simple: “It’s not the devil’s lettuce. It’s god’s creation and it heals,” David said.

The state of Virginia is also a part of the uncertainty.

With new governor Abigail Spanberger set to be inaugurated in January, there have been talks of a legal adult-use cannabis market in Virginia.

News 5 will continue to follow any updates to the cannabis industry.