Tennessee Laws and Programs

Laws

Tennessee's first drug prohibition legislation went into effect on January 1, 1914, and reflected a moral reform theme common in the Progressive era. Prompted by opiate addiction, Tennessee's early narcotics legislation was simultaneously more restrictive than federal laws established in the Harrison Act and progressive, as evidenced by use for addicts through permits registered with the state. Today, anti-narcotics law in Tennessee is characterized by pronounced themes of (1) economic remedies (e.g., fines, asset forfeiture); (2) crime code enforcement through an established penalty schedule; (3) preventative policy such as drug-free families, schools, and workplaces; and (4) treatment, in terms of both legal diversion into rehabilitation and addiction and dependency as mitigating legal factors.

It is a crime to knowingly manufacture, deliver, sell, or possess a controlled substance with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell such controlled substance according to the Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989, which classifies illegal drugs according to potential for abuse, medical purpose, and dependency potential. Typically, highly addictive, recreational drugs with little or no medical purpose are penalized rather harshly, relative to amount. Possession of more than a half ounce of marijuana, for example is a felony in the state and judges have consistently considered quantity (e.g., weight, number of pills, prepackaging in resale form) in sentencing.

In general, Tennessee drug law reflects the lingering effects of the Reagan Administration's “War on Drugs” and its “Just Say No” mantra, a thematic example being a zero tolerance policy. Accordingly, the progressive drug policy initiatives recently legislated in western and northeastern states, particularly in regard to marijuana prohibition, have not gained traction in Tennessee or elsewhere in the upper south. For example, Tennessee does not have a conditional release option wherein offenders may choose probation and rehabilitation rather than trial, decriminalization in terms of no prison time or criminal record for first-time possession of small amounts for personal consumption, or medical marijuana facilities.

At the millennium, Tennessee enacted a stamp tax on illicit substances—a failed enforcement effort that also served as an abbreviated form of asset forfeiture. The law compelled those in possession of illicit substances to self-disclose through mandatory payment per quantity of substance. The Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled the state's tax stamp on illegal drugs, known in the state as the “crack tax,” as unconstitutional. The court found that the state cannot impose a tax on illegal items such as illicit drugs or moonshine. Prior to this ruling, Tennessee collected more than $6 million from drug suspects since 2005, suggesting asset forfeiture is a priority in the state's drug control policy strategy.

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