Cannabis in Tennessee

It is illegal to use or possess the drug cannabis in Tennessee, United States,^[1] with possession of even small amounts being a criminal misdemeanor, but there are limited legal allowances for non-psychoactive CBD oil as medical cannabis.

2015 legalization of CBD oil

In May 2015, Tennessee governor Bill Haslam signed Senate Bill 280 into law, against his earlier opposition. The bill legalized the possession and use of marijuana to treat a limited number of severe conditions, including epilepsy. The bill has no provisions for legal sale, thus requiring patients to acquire the drug outside the state of Tennessee; possession of CBD oil without proof that it was obtained legally outside of Tennessee is a misdemeanor.^[2]

Municipal decriminalization

At the start of 2015 the Tennessee chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws launched a petition to place a referendum on the November ballot for Davidson County (in which Nashville falls) to defund local law enforcement prosecution against possession of small amounts of marijuana.^[3] The measure failed to reach the ballot, as by the 6 August deadline the movement had only collected about 4,000 of the required 6,845 signatures to get the measure onto the ballot.^[4]

In 2016, both Nashville and Memphis succeeded in decriminalizing possession of small amounts of cannabis, with Memphis reducing punishment to a $50 fine.^[5]

Enforcement

In 2016 the Daily Helmsman noted that Tennesse spent $43 million in 2010 on prosecuting the 42% of their drug arrests which were for a half-ounce of marijuana or less.^[5]

References