Controlled Substances

Plain English Breakdown

The exact date when the new rules start applying has not been set yet.

Tennessee Medical Cannabis Law

This bill makes it illegal in Tennessee to possess cannabis unless prescribed by a licensed doctor for specific medical conditions, sets penalties for violations, and requires citations instead of arrests for small amounts.

What This Bill Does

• Makes it against the law to have cannabis unless it was given by a licensed doctor for certain health problems.
• Lists nine medical conditions that qualify someone to get cannabis from a doctor.
• Sets fines and community service as punishments for having small amounts of cannabis without a prescription.
• Requires police officers to give citations instead of arresting people for possessing one ounce or less of cannabis.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who have certain medical conditions and need cannabis as medicine.
• Doctors who can prescribe cannabis for patients with qualifying health issues.
• Law enforcement officers who will enforce the new rules about cannabis possession.

Terms To Know

Class A misdemeanor

A serious crime that can result in fines and jail time.

Indigency

Being very poor or unable to pay a fine.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what happens if someone cannot afford the fine.
• It is unclear how this law will interact with federal laws about cannabis.

Official Summary Text

I
n recognition of the president's executive order rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III under federal law,
this bill provides that
it is an offense for a person to knowingly possess cannabis unless
it
was obtained directly from
a physician licensed under the board of medical examiners or the
board of osteopathic examination
for

a qualifying
medical condition
. Such qualifying medical conditions include all of the following:



Alzheimer's disease


ALS


Inflammatory bowel disease, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis


Epilepsy or seizures


Multiple sclerosis


Parkinson's disease


HIV or AIDS


Sickle cell disease


Cancer, when such disease is diagnosed as end stage or the treatment produces related wasting illness, recalcitrant nausea and vomiting, or pain

PENALTY

This bill provides a
violation with respect to cannabis, tetrahydrocannabinol, or chemical derivatives thereof, is a Class A misdemeanor and must be punished as
described below.

One Ounce or Less

For a violation in which the person possesses one ounce or less
of cannabis
,
this bill authorizes
the court
to
impose a fine
up to
$100, require the person to perform up to 10 hours of community service, or both.
However, t
he court m
ust
not impose a period of confinement for possession of one

ounce or less of cannabis.

If a person upon whom a fine has been imposed alleges indigency or otherwise fails to pay the
fine, th
is bill requires
the court
to
determine whether the person has willfully refused to pay or has made bona fide efforts to legally acquire resources to pay. If the person has not willfully refused to pay and has made bona fide efforts to attempt to pay the fine imposed, then the court

must
use its discretion regarding alternatives, including installment payments or additional community service.

This bill requires a
n officer enforcing
this bill to
issue
a
person a citation in lieu of custodial arrest
.

One Ounce to One-Half Pound

For a violation in which the person possesses more than one ounce but less than
one-half
pound
of cannabis
, th
is bill authorizes a
court
to
impose a fine of
up to
$500, require the person to perform up to 40 hours of community service, or both.

For
a
second
such
violation, th
is bill authorizes a
court
to
impose a fine
of up to
$1,000, a period of confinement of
up to
30 days, or both.

For a third or subsequent
such
violation, th
is bill authorizes a
court
to
impose a fine of
up to $
2,500
,
a period of confinement
of up to six
months, or both.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 1996
By Shaw

SENATE BILL 2571
By Walley
SB2571
011907
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 39,
Chapter 17, Part 4, relative to cannabis.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 39-17-418, is amended by adding
the following new subsection:
(h)
(1) Notwithstanding another law to the contrary, and in recognition of the
United States president's executive order rescheduling cannabis from Schedule I
to Schedule III under federal law, it is an offense for any person to knowingly
possess cannabis unless such substance was obtained directly from or pursuant
to a diagnosis of a qualifying medical condition, as defined in § 68-7-101, made
by a physician licensed under title 63, chapter 6 or chapter 9.
(2) A violation of this subsection (h) with respect to cannabis,
tetrahydrocannabinol, or chemical derivatives thereof, is a Class A misdemeanor
and must be punished as follows:
(A)
(i) For a violation in which the person possesses one (1)
ounce or less, the court may impose a fine of not more than one
hundred dollars ($100), require the person to perform up to ten
(10) hours of community service, or both. The court may not
impose a period of confinement for possession of one (1) ounce or
less of cannabis.

- 2 - 011907

(ii) If a person upon whom a fine has been imposed under
this subdivision (h)(2)(A) alleges indigency or otherwise fails to
pay the fine, then the court shall determine whether the person
has willfully refused to pay or has made bona fide efforts to legally
acquire resources to pay. If the person has not willfully refused to
pay and has made bona fide efforts to attempt to pay the fine
imposed, then the court shall use its discretion regarding
alternatives, including installment payments or additional
community service.
(iii) An officer enforcing this subsection (h) must issue the
person a citation in lieu of custodial arrest, pursuant to § 40-7-118.
(B) For a violation in which the person possesses more than one (1)
ounce but less than one-half (1/2) pound, the court may impose a fine of not
more than five hundred dollars ($500), require the person to perform up to forty
(40) hours of community service, or both.
(C) For second violation in which the person possesses more than one
(1) ounce but less than one-half (1/2) pound, the court may impose a fine of not
more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), a period of confinement of not more
than thirty (30) days, or both.
(D) For a third or subsequent violation in which the person possesses
more than one (1) ounce but less than one-half (1/2) pound, the court may
impose a fine of not more than two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), a
period of confinement of not more than more than six (6) months, or both.

- 3 - 011907

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it,
and applies to offenses occurring on or after that date and offenses for which prosecution is
initiated on or after that date.