KLS Keeping Law Simple Legislation in plain English

Straight-ahead summaries built from the official bill text. We keep the source links front and center and leave the decision up to you.

Back to Tennessee

HB0072 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17; Title 43, Chapter 27 and Title 49, Chapter 6, relative to hemp-derived cannabinoids.

Children Crime Healthcare Labor
Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Howell, Gardenhire
Last action
2025-04-04
Official status
Effective date(s) 07/01/2025
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not specify enforcement details for keeping products out of reach from all people under 21, only mentioning restrictions on employee access.

Tennessee Law Changes for Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids

This law changes penalties and restrictions related to selling hemp-derived cannabinoid products to people under 21 years old in Tennessee.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires a person who sells or gives hemp-derived cannabinoid products to someone under 21 to serve at least 48 hours in jail and pay a fine of $500 to $2,500.
  • Makes it illegal for stores to let employees younger than 21 handle or sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products.

Who It Names or Affects

  • People who sell or give hemp-derived cannabinoid products to those under 21 years old.
  • Retail stores selling hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
  • Employees under the age of 21 working in retail stores that sell hemp-derived cannabinoid products.

Terms To Know

Hemp-Derived Cannabinoids
Chemicals found in hemp plants, which are different from marijuana and can be used for medical or recreational purposes.
Retail Establishment
A business that sells goods directly to customers.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The law does not specify what happens if a retailer violates the rules about employees under 21 handling products.
  • It is unclear how strictly stores will enforce keeping hemp-derived cannabinoid products out of reach from all people under 21.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Amendment 1-0 to SB0215

Plain English: The amendment changes penalties for certain violations related to hemp-derived cannabinoids and restricts access by minors in retail establishments.

  • Increases jail time and fines for violating specific sections of Tennessee law regarding hemp-derived cannabinoids, setting a minimum sentence of forty-eight hours and a fine of at least $500.
  • Prohibits retailers from allowing employees under twenty-one years old to handle or sell products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids.
  • The exact sections being amended are not fully explained in the provided text, making it difficult to understand all implications without additional context.

Bill History

  1. 2025-04-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Effective date(s) 07/01/2025

  2. 2025-04-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Pub. Ch. 77

  3. 2025-04-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Comp. became Pub. Ch. 77

  4. 2025-03-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Governor.

  5. 2025-03-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    Transmitted to Governor for his action.

  6. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by Senate Speaker

  7. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Signed by H. Speaker

  8. 2025-03-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Enrolled; ready for sig. of H. Speaker.

  9. 2025-03-17 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. concurred in S. am. no. 1 Ayes 86, Nays 8 PNV 0 HB0072

  10. 2025-03-13 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Message Calendar for 3/17/2025

  11. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed Senate as amended, Ayes 27, Nays 3

  12. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate adopted Amendment (Amendment 1 - SA0049)

  13. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Senate substituted House Bill for companion Senate Bill.

  14. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  15. 2025-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Companion House Bill substituted

  16. 2025-03-07 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 3/10/2025

  17. 2025-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly

    Recommended for passage with amendment/s, refer to Senate Calendar Committee Ayes 8, Nays 0 PNV 1

  18. 2025-02-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Received from House, Passed on First Consideration

  19. 2025-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/4/2025

  20. 2025-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly

    Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.

  21. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed H., Ayes 87, Nays 8, PNV 0

  22. 2025-02-24 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  23. 2025-02-20 Tennessee General Assembly

    H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 2/24/2025

  24. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 2/20/2025

  25. 2025-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee

  26. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 2/19/2025

  27. 2025-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly

    Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee

  28. 2025-02-11 Tennessee General Assembly

    Sponsor(s) Added.

  29. 2025-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly

    Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee

  30. 2025-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly

    Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 2/12/2025

  31. 2025-01-28 Tennessee General Assembly

    Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee

  32. 2025-01-27 Tennessee General Assembly

    Introduced, Passed on First Consideration

  33. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Ref. to Judiciary Committee

  34. 2025-01-16 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

  35. 2025-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly

    P2C held on desk, pending appointment of Standing Committees

  36. 2025-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly

    Intro., P1C.

  37. 2025-01-08 Tennessee General Assembly

    Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Under present law, it is an offense for a person to kn
owingly sell or distribute a product containing hemp-derived cannabinoid to a person who is under 21 or to purchase a product containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid on behalf of a person who is under 21. It is also an offense for a person to knowingly ass
i
st a person who is under 21 to purchase, acquire, receive, or attempt to purchase a product containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid. Under present law, a violation of either of these provisions is a Class A misdemeanor with imprisonment not more than 11 mo
n
ths, 29 days or a fine not to exceed $2,500, or both.

This bill, instead, requires that a person violating the above provisions must be sentenced to serve in the county jail or workhouse not less than 48 consecutive hours nor more than 11 months and 29 d
ays and be fined not less than $500 and no more than $1,500.

Present law requires a product containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid to be maintained behind the counter of a retail establishment in an area inaccessible to a customer. This bill requires su
ch product to also be inaccessible to an employee of the retail establishment who is younger than 21. It is a violation of this bill for a retailer to knowingly allow an employee younger than 21 to access, handle, or sell any product containing a hemp-de
r
ived cannabinoid on the premises of the retail establishment.

ON MARCH 10, 2025, THE SENATE SUBSTITUTED HOUSE BILL 72 FOR SENATE BILL 215, ADOPTED AMENDMENT #1, AND PASSED HOUSE BILL 72, AS AMENDED.

AMENDMENT #1 raises the maximum limit on the fine fr
om $1,500 to $2,500.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
SENATE BILL 215
By Gardenhire

HOUSE BILL 72
By Howell

HB0072
001017
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 17; Title 43, Chapter 27 and Title 49,
Chapter 6, relative to hemp-derived cannabinoids.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 43-27-203(d), is amended by adding
the following language at the end of the subsection:
A person violating subdivision (b)(2) or (b)(3) shall be sentenced to serve in the county
jail or workhouse not less than forty-eight (48) consecutive hours nor more than eleven
(11) months and twenty-nine (29) days and be fined not less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 43-27-204(b), is amended by
deleting the language "to a customer." and substituting instead the following:
to a customer or an employee of the retail establishment who is younger than twenty-
one (21) years of age. It is unlawful for a retailer to knowingly allow an employee
younger than twenty-one (21) years of age to access, handle, or sell any product
containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid on the premises of the retail establishment.
SECTION 3. This act takes effect July 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it.