What Are Tennessee’s Weed Laws and Penalties?

Tennessee’s weed laws are among the strictest in the country. Recreational marijuana is illegal in every form, possessing even a small amount is a criminal misdemeanor, and selling or growing marijuana is a felony with prison time that climbs steeply by weight or plant count. The state allows one narrow medical exception for low-THC CBD oil, and it regulates hemp-derived products like Delta-8 separately, but marijuana flower itself remains fully off-limits.

Possession Penalties

Knowingly possessing any amount of marijuana is a crime in Tennessee. Half an ounce (about 14 grams) or less on a first offense is a Class A misdemeanor: up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a mandatory minimum fine of $250, and a maximum fine of $2,500. A second conviction raises the mandatory minimum to $500, though the maximum jail time stays the same.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-418 – Simple Possession or Casual Exchange A third simple possession conviction does not automatically become a felony unless heroin is involved.

Paraphernalia is a separate Class A misdemeanor. If officers find both marijuana and a pipe or rolling papers during a stop, you can face two misdemeanor charges from the same encounter, each carrying its own potential jail time and fine up to $2,500.2Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-425 – Unlawful Drug Paraphernalia Uses and Activities3Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines

One exception worth flagging: casually giving a small amount of marijuana to a minor, when the adult is at least two years older and knows the recipient is underage, is not treated as a misdemeanor. That charge is bumped to a felony under the state’s general drug-offense statute.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-418 – Simple Possession or Casual Exchange

Sale, Delivery, and Cultivation

Any sale, delivery, or cultivation of marijuana is a felony, and the penalty scales with quantity. Prosecutors use whichever measure applies, weight or plant count. By weight:

By plant count:

Those ranges cover everything from the lowest mitigated sentence to the maximum for repeat offenders. Prosecutors also don’t need to catch you making a sale to charge distribution. Digital scales, individually bagged product, or large amounts of cash can support an intent-to-distribute theory, which turns what looks like a possession case into a felony.

Drug-Free School Zones

Any marijuana felony committed within 500 feet of a school, childcare center, public library, park, or recreational center is bumped up one felony class. A Class E becomes a Class D, a Class D becomes a Class C, and so on. Courts can also add fines ranging from $10,000 for a Class E felony up to $100,000 for a Class A felony. The enhancement applies to conspiracy charges, not just completed offenses.5Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-432 – Drug-Free School Zone – Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Violations Within Zone

Medical Cannabis in Tennessee

Tennessee does not have a medical marijuana program in the sense most people mean. There are no medical marijuana cards, no dispensaries, and no legal path to buy marijuana flower for any condition. What exists is a narrow exception: patients diagnosed with certain conditions may possess low-THC, high-CBD oil containing no more than 0.9% THC.

The qualifying conditions are:

  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
  • Cancer, including for nausea and vomiting
  • Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis
  • Epilepsy, seizures, or intractable seizures
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • HIV or AIDS
  • Sickle cell disease

The practical problem is that the oil cannot be legally produced or purchased inside Tennessee. A qualifying patient needs a diagnosis from a licensed Tennessee physician and has to obtain the oil from a legal dispensary in another state with reciprocity provisions, then carry documentation showing it was legally acquired. Tennessee does not recognize medical marijuana cards from other states for any purpose beyond this one CBD oil exception.

Hemp, Delta-8, and CBD Products

Tennessee separates marijuana from hemp by THC content. Under the 2018 federal Farm Bill, hemp-derived products with less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC are legal, which is why standard CBD oil is widely sold across the state.6U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Hemp Production and the 2018 Farm Bill

Other hemp-derived cannabinoids like Delta-8, Delta-10, and THCa once sat in a gray market. The state has since built a formal regulatory framework, and as of January 1, 2026, oversight of hemp-derived cannabinoid (HDC) products moved from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture to the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission.7TN.gov. Hemp The key rules for buyers and sellers:

  • You must be at least 21 to buy any HDC product, and retailers must check government-issued photo ID.
  • Retailers and suppliers must hold an HDC license from the TABC.
  • Retailers must keep certificates of analysis for every product sold, retained for at least two years, and the TABC can sample and test products at any time.
  • Products must meet specific manufacturing and labeling requirements.

Tennessee also imposes a 6% retail privilege tax on HDC products, on top of the 7% state sales tax and any local sales tax.8TN.gov. Taxability of Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids Depending on your county, the combined rate on a bag of Delta-8 gummies can easily top 20%.

Driving Under the Influence of Marijuana

Tennessee’s DUI statute covers impairment from any substance, and there is no set legal threshold for THC in your blood the way there is for alcohol. Any detectable amount of THC that impairs your ability to drive safely can support a conviction. Officers typically rely on field sobriety testing and, with probable cause, a blood draw.

A first-offense marijuana DUI carries the same penalties as an alcohol DUI: a minimum of 48 consecutive hours in jail (up to 11 months and 29 days), fines between $350 and $1,500, and a one-year driver’s license suspension.9Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-402 – Public Service Work A restricted license may be available during the suspension, and an alcohol and drug safety course is required. Later offenses bring longer mandatory jail time and larger fines.

Refusing a Blood or Chemical Test

Under Tennessee’s implied consent law, driving on Tennessee roads counts as agreement to a blood or chemical test when an officer has reasonable grounds to suspect impairment. Refusing after a lawful arrest carries its own consequences: a one-year license revocation on a first refusal, two years if you have a prior DUI, two years if the stop involved a crash with serious injuries, and five years if someone died.10Justia. Tennessee Code 55-10-407 – Penalty for Violations of Section 55-10-406 The refusal can also be used against you at trial.

Expunging a Marijuana Conviction

A conviction doesn’t have to be permanent, but eligibility is narrow and the waiting periods are long. Simple possession misdemeanors and Class E felonies (such as possession of between half an ounce and 10 pounds with a fine not exceeding $2,500) become eligible five years after you complete your entire sentence. Certain Class C felony convictions involving 20 to 99 plants or equivalent weight, with a fine not exceeding $100,000, are eligible after 10 years.11Justia. Tennessee Code 40-32-101 – Destruction or Release of Records

You also have to show every part of your sentence is complete: fines, restitution, and court costs paid, probation or supervised release finished, and, if the court ordered it, at least one year free from substance dependency. A prior conviction for an offense that isn’t itself expungement-eligible disqualifies you, and generally only one conviction can be expunged under the statute. Holding a commercial driver’s license at the time of a drug manufacturing or distribution offense committed in a motor vehicle disqualifies you outright.11Justia. Tennessee Code 40-32-101 – Destruction or Release of Records

Marijuana Use and Firearms

Federal law bars anyone who is an “unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance” from possessing, buying, or receiving a firearm or ammunition.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 922 – Unlawful Acts Marijuana remains a Schedule I substance federally, so a regular marijuana user in Tennessee falls within the prohibition even if the state-level conduct is only a misdemeanor.

In January 2026, the ATF published a revised definition of “unlawful user.” A single past use or isolated incident no longer automatically disqualifies someone. The agency now looks for evidence that a person uses a controlled substance with “sufficient regularity and recency to indicate that the individual is actively engaged in such conduct.”13Federal Register. Revising Definition of Unlawful User of or Addicted to Controlled Substance In practice, regular marijuana use disqualifies you from buying a firearm at a licensed dealer. ATF Form 4473 asks about controlled substance use directly, and lying on that form is a separate federal felony.