SB1656 • 2026

Criminal Offenses

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33, Chapter 2; Title 38; Title 39; Title 50; Title 63 and Title 68, relative to Kratom.

Children Crime Healthcare Labor

Active

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

Sponsor: Gardenhire, Helton-Haynes
Last action: 2026-04-14
Official status: Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/16/2026
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill does not specify exact penalties for violations involving minors, only that it raises them from Class C felony to Class B felony.

Kratom Criminal Offenses Act

This bill makes possessing, manufacturing, delivering, or selling Kratom illegal and requires medical professionals to test for Kratom in certain cases.

What This Bill Does

Makes it a crime to possess, manufacture, deliver, or sell Kratom.
Classifies possession of Kratom as a Class A misdemeanor with penalties including up to one year in jail and fines up to $2,500.
Increases the penalty for manufacturing, delivering, or selling Kratom to a felony offense, which can result in imprisonment from three to 15 years and fines up to $10,000.
Raises penalties if Kratom is sold or delivered to minors by adults who are at least two years older than the minor and know their age.
Requires doctors to test for Kratom when they suspect a drug overdose or neonatal abstinence syndrome.
Requires medical examiners to test for Kratom during autopsies of suspected drug overdoses.

Who It Names or Affects

People who possess, manufacture, deliver, or sell Kratom
Doctors and medical examiners conducting tests related to drug overdose or neonatal abstinence syndrome

Terms To Know

Kratom: A plant containing alkaloids that can be used for medicinal purposes but is also regulated due to potential risks.
Felony: A serious crime punishable by imprisonment of more than one year or death.

Limits and Unknowns

The bill does not specify the exact penalties for violations involving minors.
It is unclear how this will affect existing drug-free workplace programs and their testing requirements.

Bill History

2026-04-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Regular Calendar for 4/16/2026
2026-04-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Received from House, Passed on First Consideration
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Calendar Committee
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Engrossed; ready for transmission to Sen.
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-04-08 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed H., Ayes 78, Nays 9, PNV 8
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee calendar for 4/8/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Rule #83(8) Suspended, to be heard in Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee on 4/8/2026
2026-04-02 Tennessee General Assembly
H. Placed on Regular Calendar for 4/8/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Calendar & Rules Committee for 4/2/2026
2026-04-01 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2026-03-31 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Calendar & Rules Committee
2026-03-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Recommended for passage, refer to Senate Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for 3/31/2026
2026-03-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/25/2026
2026-03-24 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/25/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/24/2026
2026-03-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/24/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/23/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee for 3/25/2026
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee
2026-03-18 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass; ref to Finance, Ways, and Means Committee
2026-03-16 Tennessee General Assembly
Reset on Final calendar of Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/16/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/18/2026
2026-03-11 Tennessee General Assembly
Action def. in Judiciary Committee to 3/18/2026
2026-03-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) withdrawn.
2026-03-09 Tennessee General Assembly
Action deferred in Senate Judiciary Committee to 3/17/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on Senate Judiciary Committee calendar for 3/9/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on cal. Judiciary Committee for 3/11/2026
2026-03-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Rec. for pass by s/c ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-02-26 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-25 Tennessee General Assembly
Placed on s/c cal Criminal Justice Subcommittee for 3/4/2026
2026-02-23 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-19 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-12 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-10 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-05 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-04 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-03 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-02-02 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-22 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Passed on Second Consideration, refer to Senate Judiciary Committee
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
Assigned to s/c Criminal Justice Subcommittee
2026-01-21 Tennessee General Assembly
P2C, ref. to Judiciary Committee
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Introduced, Passed on First Consideration
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Sponsor(s) Added.
2026-01-15 Tennessee General Assembly
Intro., P1C.
2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction
2026-01-14 Tennessee General Assembly
Filed for introduction

Official Summary Text

Present law makes it an offense for a person to knowingly to do any of the following:

'

Sell, or offer for sale, Kratom unless labeled and in its natural form
.
'

Distribute, sell, or offer for sale, Kratom to a person under 21
.
'

Purchase or possess Kratom if under 21.

This bill revises the offenses described above by, instead,
mak
ing
it an offense for a person to knowingly do any of the following:

'

Possess
Kratom
'

Manufacture, deliver
,
or sell
Kratom
'

Possess with the intent to manufacture, deliver
,
or sell
Kratom

This bill classifies the offense of possessing Kratom as a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a term of imprisonment of
11 months, 29 days
; a fine of
$2,500
; or both. The other two offenses are classified as Class C felonies, punishable by a term of imprisonment of three

to 15 years and a potential fine of
$
10,000. However, such felony offenses are raised to a Class B felony if the violation involved the delivery or sale of Kratom to a minor from an adult who is at least two years older than the minor an
d the adult knew the person was a minor. A Class B felony is punishable by a term of imprisonment of eight

to 30 years and a potential fine of
$
25,000.

TESTING REQUIREMENTS

This bill requires
a treating physician
to
order toxicology testing
for the presence of Kratom if the
physician s
uspect
s a
drug overdose

or

neonatal abstinence syndrome.

If a county medical examiner's office or regional forensic center is conducting an autopsy on a decedent and the decedent's suspected cause of death is drug overdose, then th
is bill
requires the
county medical examiner
to
test the decedent for the presence of Kratom.

ALCOHOL AND DRUG TREATMENT FACILITY ORGANIZATION POLICIES

Present law requires an alcohol and drug treatment facility organization selected and approved by the commissioner of mental health and substance abuse
to
perform certification of recovery residences to adopt a policy requiring abstinence from alcohol, illicit drugs, and certain non
-
illicit drugs, including
K
ratom
,
as
part of its
minimum standards for certification.

This bill removes the requirement of
including

K
ratom abstinence
in such policy
.

DRUG-FREE WORKPLACE PROGRAMS

Present law generally authorizes an employer that
is covered by the Workers' Compensation Law,

maintains a drug-free workplace
,
and
complies with required
posting
about the drug-free workplace to test a job applicant or an employee for drugs.
This bill
requires
the
commissioner
of labor and workforce development to promulgate a rule to add Kratom to the definition of a
"
drug
" for such purposes
.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

HOUSE BILL 1649
By Helton-Haynes

SENATE BILL 1656
By Gardenhire
SB1656
011224
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 33,
Chapter 2; Title 38; Title 39; Title 50; Title 63 and
Title 68, relative to Kratom.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-452, is amended by deleting
subdivision (a)(3).
SECTION 2. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39, Chapter 17, Part 4, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) It is an offense to knowingly possess Kratom.
(b) It is an offense to knowingly manufacture, deliver, or sell Kratom.
(c) It is an offense to knowingly possess Kratom with intent to manufacture,
deliver, or sell Kratom.
(d) As used in this section, "Kratom" means any part of the mitragyna speciosa
plant containing the alkaloid mitragynine or metabolite 7-hydroxymitragynine; any
substance or compound obtained by extraction of the mitragyna speciosa leaf; any
alkaloid or alkaloid derivative that has been created by chemical synthesis or
biosynthetic means that synthetically alters the composition of any Kratom alkaloid or
alkaloid derivative; any derivative, analog, or other preparation of Kratom; and any
derivative, analog, or other preparation thereof that is substantially chemically equivalent
or identical to Kratom.
(e)
(1) A violation of subsection (a) is a Class A misdemeanor.
(2)

- 2 - 011224

(A) Except as provided in subdivision (e)(2)(B), a violation of
subsection (b) or (c) is a Class C felony.
(B) A violation of subsection (b) or (c) is a Class B felony if the
violation involved the delivery or sale of Kratom to a minor from an adult
who is at least two (2) years the minor's senior, and who knows that the
person is a minor.
SECTION 3. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 33-2-1404(a)(8), is amended by
deleting ", including Kratom".
SECTION 4. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 38, Chapter 7, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
If a county medical examiner's office or regional forensic center is conducting an
autopsy on a decedent and the decedent's suspected cause of death is drug overdose,
then the county medical examiner shall test the decedent for the presence of Kratom.
SECTION 5. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 63, Chapter 6, Part 2, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
If a treating physician orders toxicology testing in the following circumstances,
then the toxicology testing must include testing for the presence of Kratom:
(1) Suspected drug overdose; or
(2) Suspected neonatal abstinence syndrome.
SECTION 6. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 9, is amended by adding
the following as a new section:
The commissioner of labor and workforce development shall promulgate a rule to
add Kratom to the definition of a drug, as defined in § 50-9-103. The rule must be
promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in
title 4, chapter 5.

- 3 - 011224

SECTION 7. This act is known and may be cited as "Matthew Davenport's Law."
SECTION 8. This act takes effect July 1, 2026, the public welfare requiring it.