Legislation to Defelonize Cannabis Possession Signed into Law in Tennessee
Legislation to remove the possibility of a felony conviction for the personal possession of up to half an ounce of cannabis has been signed into law by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam.
Under current law, someone caught possessing up to a half ounce of cannabis for the third time can be charged with a felony punishable by up to six years in prison. House Bill 1478 changes the law so that third and subsequent cannabis possession offenses will be reduced to a misdemeanor, punishable by no more than one year in jail (the same penalty for someone’s first or second offense)
Last year a measure (House Bill 0873) to decriminalize the possession of up to an ounce of cannabis was passed out of Tennessee’s House Finance, Ways and Means Committee, though it unfortunately failed to advance further.
House Bill 1478 takes full effect on July 1st.
