Tennessee Marijuana Policy
Tennessee is home to some of the harshest marijuana laws in the entire country. A year just for weed, egads! Tennessee is backwards in a lot of ways, and marijuana laws are one of them. I will say though that they do grow some good marijuana there, just gotta be careful! Below are the marijuana laws in Tennessee, courtesy of Tennessee NORML:
Decriminalized? — No.
Possession of any amount is a misdemeanor, punishable by 1 year in jail and up to a $2,500 fine.
Cultivation of 10 plants or less is a felony, punishable by 1-6 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Cultivation of 10-19 plants is a felony, punishable by 2-12 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Cultivation of 20-99 plants is a felony, punishable by 3-15 years in prison and a $100,000 fine.
Cultivation of 100-499 plants is a felony, punishable by 8-30 years in prison and a $200,000 fine, in addition to federal penalties.
Cultivation of 500 plants or more is a felony, punishable by 15-60 years in prison and a $500,000 fine, in addition to federal penalties.
Distributing less than .5 oz is considered a possession charge.
Distributing .5 oz to 10 lbs is a felony, punishable by 1-6 years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Distributing 10 to 70 lbs is a felony, punishable by 2-12 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.
Distributing 70 to 300 lbs is a felony, punishable by 8-30 years in prison and a $200,000 fine.
Distributing 300 lbs or more is a felony, punishable by 15-60 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
Distributing to a minor, or within 1,000 feet of a school, is an additional felony, and increases the penalties in both categories (to be determined by the judge).
Possession of paraphernalia is a misdemeanor, punishable by 1 year in jail and a $2,500 fine.
Distributing paraphernalia is a felony, punishable by 1-6 years in prison and a $3,000 fine.
Tennessee is one of the last states to have a Marijuana Tax Stamp Law. Essentially, in order to possess the marijuana, you have to have a stamp. However, you only get the stamp when you are already in possession of the marijuana, which makes in you in violation. This act is illegal, but until it is challenged, it will remain on the books. A similar law was enacted at the Federal level and later found unconstitutional.
Medical Program? — No.
Want to improve the marijuana laws in Tennessee? Below are some great places to get started, via our Tennessee activism page:
Tennessee Marijuana Policy Project
https://www.mpp.org/states/tennessee/
Tennessee Americans for Safe Access
https://www.safeaccessnow.org/article.php?id=257
Tennessee Students for Sensible Drug Policy
https://ssdp.org/chapters/southern/tennessee
Tennessee NORML Chapters
https://norml.org/index.cfm?Group_ID=4565&wtm_view=chapter
