New Drug Laws in Tennessee: Xylazine, Fentanyl, Hemp, and Kratom

Tennessee passed a wave of new drug laws in 2024 and 2025 that create felony penalties for xylazine and fentanyl distribution, regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8 for the first time, and ban kratom outright starting July 1, 2026. If you sell any of these products, use them, or could find yourself calling 911 for someone who does, the rules that apply to you have changed.

Xylazine Is Now a Criminal Offense

Xylazine, a veterinary sedative that has been showing up mixed into street drugs, carries its own criminal penalties in Tennessee under HB 1242. Lawmakers did not add it to the controlled substance schedule; they wrote separate charges for it.

Simple possession of xylazine is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.¹² Manufacturing, delivering, or selling xylazine, or possessing it with intent to sell, is a Class C felony carrying 3 to 15 years in prison depending on the offender’s range.³

The statute exempts veterinarians using xylazine in legitimate practice and anyone possessing it under a valid veterinary prescription.¹

Fentanyl Penalties Have Escalated Sharply

SB 1754 rewrote how Tennessee punishes fentanyl distribution. If you manufacture, deliver, or sell a Schedule I or II controlled substance and that transaction results in someone’s death, you can be prosecuted for second degree murder, a Class A felony carrying 15 to 60 years in prison.⁴³

For fentanyl specifically, the law adds more. Dealing any detectable amount of fentanyl, carfentanil, remifentanil, alfentanil, or thiafentanil is a Class B felony with a potential fine of up to $100,000. If the defendant crossed county lines while committing the offense, the punishment jumps one felony classification higher than it would otherwise be.⁴

There is also a first responder provision. Possessing fentanyl in a way that foreseeably exposes an on-duty first responder to the substance, when exposure actually happens, is a Class C felony carrying a mandatory $15,000 fine and a mandatory minimum of 90 days in jail with no early release from that period.⁴

Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids Are Now Regulated

SB 0378 and HB 0403 built Tennessee’s first real regulatory framework for hemp-derived cannabinoid products, the Delta-8 and Delta-10 items that had been selling with almost no state oversight.

Licensing and the Age 21 Rule

You need a license to manufacture or sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products in Tennessee. Licensing authority originally sat with the Department of Agriculture, and retail oversight has since moved to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.⁵⁶ Selling without a license or to an unauthorized buyer can cost you your business permits.

Buyers must be at least 21. Selling to anyone younger is a Class A misdemeanor. So is underage purchase or possession, and presenting a fake ID to buy carries the same charge.⁵

Tax, Testing, and Labels

A 5% privilege tax applies to retail sales of hemp-derived cannabinoid products, on top of existing state and local sales taxes. Revenue goes to the Department of Agriculture to fund enforcement.⁵ Manufacturers must follow testing and labeling protocols that keep THC within legal limits, display results, and carry warnings about the product’s effects.

Kratom Will Be Banned in July 2026

The 114th General Assembly passed HB 1649, called “Matthew Davenport’s Law,” which bans the possession, sale, and manufacture of kratom throughout Tennessee. The ban takes effect July 1, 2026.⁷

The penalty tiers are:

Possession is a Class A misdemeanor, up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both.
Manufacturing, delivering, or selling is a Class C felony, 3 to 15 years in prison and a potential fine of $10,000.
Sale to a minor is a Class B felony if the seller is an adult at least two years older than the minor and knew the buyer was underage, carrying 8 to 30 years in prison and a potential fine of $25,000.

Retailers currently stocking kratom have time to clear inventory and stop sales before the effective date.⁷

What Happens If You Call 911 for an Overdose

With felony exposure this broad, Tennessee’s overdose immunity statute matters more than ever. Under Tennessee Code 63-1-156, a person who calls 911 or otherwise seeks medical help for someone experiencing a drug overdose cannot be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for drug violations discovered because they sought that help. The same protection covers the person overdosing.⁸

Immunity is automatic only for a first overdose. For any subsequent incident, granting immunity is up to the responding officer or the district attorney. The statute also does not cover other crimes uncovered during the response; it shields only the drug possession charge that comes to light because someone called for help.⁸

If immunity does not apply, giving first aid or medical assistance can still be raised as a mitigating factor at sentencing. The law also protects people from being penalized for probation, parole, or protective order violations tied to seeking emergency help for an overdose.⁸

1
Tennessee General Assembly. Bill Information – HB1242
2
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines for Misdemeanors
3
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 40-35-112 – Sentence Ranges
4
Tennessee General Assembly. Bill Information – SB1754
5
Tennessee General Assembly. Tennessee General Assembly – SB0378
6
Tennessee Department of Agriculture. Hemp Industry
7
Tennessee General Assembly. Bill Information – HB1649
8
Justia Law. Tennessee Code 63-1-156 – Immunity From Prosecution When Seeking Medical Assistance for Drug Overdose