Shawn Breyer
Is weed legal in Tennessee?
This article is going to cover:
Weed is not legal in Tennessee for recreational use.
And weed is not legal in Tennessee for medical use.
Tennessee is one of 13 states that have no medical marijuana laws.
Tennessee is one of the strictest states on marijuana laws.
And it continues to criminalize any amount of marijuana.
Marijuana is a Schedule VI drug for Tennesseans.
Here is the Tennessee Controlled Substances Act.
Let’s look at the different types of Tennessee weed laws.
| Offense | Penalties | Jail Time | Max Fines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possession | |||
| Up to 0.5 ounces (First Offense) | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $250 |
| Up to 0.5 ounces (Subsequent Offenses) | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $500 |
| Sale Or Distribution | |||
| 0.5 ounces - 10 lbs | Felony | 6 years | $5,000 |
| 10 - 70 lbs | Felony | 12 years | $50,000 |
| 70 - 300 lbs | Felony | 30 years | $100,000 |
| 300+ lbs | Felony | 60 years | $200,000 |
| Cultivation | |||
| Up to 10 plants | Felony | 6 years | $5,000 |
| 10 - 19 plants | Felony | 12 years | $50,000 |
| 20 - 99 plants | Felony | 15 years | $100,000 |
| 100 - 499 plants | Felony | 30 years | $200,000 |
| 500+ plants | Felony | 60 years | $500,000 |
| Hash & Concentrates | |||
| Possession | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,500 |
| Up to 2 lbs | Felony | 6 years | $5,000 |
| 2 - 4 lbs | Felony | 12 years | $50,000 |
| 4 - 8 lbs | Felony | 15 years | $100,000 |
| 8 - 15 lbs | Felony | 30 years | $200,000 |
| 15+ lbs | Felony | 60 years | $500,000 |
| Paraphernalia | |||
| Possession | Misdemeanor | 1 year | $2,500 |
| Sale | Felony | 6 years | $3,000 |
These are the marijuana laws for personal possession of marijuana.
Recreational cannabis is not decriminalized in Tennessee for adult use.
(CBD is legal for medical use as long as it contains less than 0.9% of THC.)
Possessing less than 0.5 ounces (first offense) is a misdemeanor with:
Possessing less than 0.5 ounces (subsequent offenses) is a misdemeanor with:
Note that these are simple possession of marijuana charges.
Anything above 0.5 ounces of marijuana is automatically a felony.
Related: How Many People Are In Jail For Weed
The marijuana laws for selling marijuana in Tennessee are simple.
This section applies if you are in possession of more than 0.5 ounces of marijuana.
In Tennessee, law enforcement automatically assumes you have intent to sell.
It’s important that you don’t possess more than small amounts of marijuana.
Otherwise, your possession could turn into felony charges.
From 0.5 ounces – 10 lbs is a Class E felony with:
From 10 – 70 lbs is a Class D felony with:
From 70 – 300 lbs is a Class B felony with:
From 300+ lbs is a Class A felony with:
The marijuana laws for cultivating marijuana get you an automatic felony.
Growing up to 10 plants is a felony with:
Growing 10 – 19 plants is a felony with:
Growing 20 – 99 plants is a felony with:
Growing 100 – 499 plants is a felony with:
Growing 500+ plants is a felony with:
Possession of small amounts is only a misdemeanor.
Possession of THC concentrates gets you a misdemeanor with:
This next part applies to manufacturing, selling, or delivering THC hash and concentrates.
Up to 2 lbs is a felony with:
From 2 – 4 lbs is a felony with:
From 4 – 8 lbs is a felony with:
From 8 – 15 lbs is a felony with:
From 15+ lbs is a felony with:
State laws for paraphernalia are split between possession and selling it.
Possessing or using paraphernalia is a misdemeanor with:
Selling paraphernalia is a felony with:
Falsifying drug tests is a misdemeanor with:
Decriminalization of marijuana has not happened in Tennessee yet.
Recreational use and possession of marijuana are fully illegal in Tennessee.
State lawmakers are blocking the decriminalization of weed in Tennessee.
But, Memphis and Nashville, Tenn created their own city ordinances in 2016.
Officers had the discretion to give Tennesseans civil charges.
But only for possessing small amounts of marijuana.
Then, Gov. Bill Haslam repealed those local marijuana decriminalization laws.
This section is covering whether weed is legal in Tennessee for:
Is weed legal in Tennessee for recreational use?
No, weed is not legal in Tennessee for recreational use for adults.
A Tennessee recreational weed bill has not even been considered.
Possession and cultivation remain illegal in Tennessee under state and federal laws.
Possession of any amount of marijuana is a misdemeanor.
And gets you up to 1 year in jail time and a $2,500 fine.
Multiple convictions with small amounts of marijuana used to be felonies.
But the legislature changed that to make them misdemeanors.
That way, people with non-violent convictions wouldn’t have felony records.
No, weed is not legal in Tennessee for medical use.
Tennessee is one of the only 13 states without the legalization of marijuana for medical use.
81% of Tennesseans support the use of marijuana for qualifying medical conditions.
But products with THC in them are allowed for medical use.
Patients can use THC products if they have been diagnosed by a Tennessee physician.
And the products that patients are allowed to consume are:
It’s important to note that you cannot buy these products in Tennessee.
Lawmakers will not allow companies to have licenses to sell them.
Patients have to go to a reciprocity state where medical marijuana is legal to buy it.
Let’s say the police “catch” you with these products in your possession.
You have to be able to prove that you bought it legally in another state.
Yes, THC is legal in Tennessee for medical use only.
Patients can possess medical cannabis products with up to 0.9% THC in them.
Patients cannot have the marijuana flower – only derivatives like CBD Oils.
THC is illegal in Tennessee if the person does not have a qualifying condition.
And a diagnosis from a licensed physician.
Yes, Delta-8 THC is legal in Tennessee to:
Delta-8 THC is legal in Tennessee under the Agriculture Improvement Act (2018 Farm Bill).
Delta-8 THC has to get sourced from hemp with less than 0.3% THC.
Anything containing more than this gets considered as marijuana under state laws.
No, pot is not legal in Gatlinburg, Tenn.
Marijuana is still illegal in Tennessee for recreational adult use and medical use.
Yes, hemp is legal in Tennessee.
The Department of Agriculture regulates Tennessee’s hemp industry.
As long as the hemp is under 0.3% THC, then you can:
Hemp is legal under Tennessee weed laws and federal laws.
These are Tennessee’s weed legalization bills.
There were a few bills in 2022 that lawmakers proposed that would:
None of these made it past committee hearings.
Related: Marijuana Legality By State
This House bill created the therapeutic research program (Patient Qualification Review Board).
This would have allowed medical cannabis research for those with:
This House bill got repealed with Senate bill 1818 in 1992.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 280 into law.
This bill allowed the use of THC for severe medical conditions, like epilepsy.
The bill did not allow licensing to sell cannabis products.
Patients have to go out of state to get products with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in them.
If patients cannot prove they got the products legally out of state, it’s a misdemeanor.
Tennessean patients may possess CBD oils with up to 0.9% THC in them.
This House bill also gave protections to parents and caregivers of medical use patients.
But the patients have to have a diagnosis from a Tennessee doctor.
This law excluded hemp from the state law‘s Controlled Substances Act.
Hemp production is allowed if it contains less than 0.3% THC.
And hemp growers’ licenses get managed by the Department of Agriculture.
This Senate bill was named the Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission.
This bill allowed the commission to study and consider medical cannabis in Tennessee.
These updated Tennessee weed laws in 2022 also:
Tennessee does not allow licensing of dispensaries, even for CBD oils.
Patients with qualifying conditions have to go to other states to get CBD oils.
And, legally, you have to get the CBD oils from licensed dispensaries in those states.
Those states also have to have reciprocity provisions in the marijuana laws.
Here are the qualifying conditions that this Senate bill added to the list:
The Tennessee Medical Cannabis Commission also laid out:
The recommended ways patients can consume low levels of THC are:
If you’re interested in what states weed is legal in, here’s a list of all the states.
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