Cannabis in Tennessee: lounges, dispensaries & laws
In Tennessee, only CBD / low-THC products are permitted. Medical possession: no conventional medical marijuana program and no possession allowance for marijuana. Tennessee's only medical carve-out (SB 118, 2021) excludes from the legal definition of marijuana CBD oil containing up to 0.9% THC, when the patient has a qualifying condition and holds a valid letter of attestation from a practitioner. There are no licensed in-state dispensaries; the law contemplates patients obtaining product from legal dispensaries in other states. No stated weight or volume possession cap was confirmed — verify with state regulator.
Can you legally consume on site in Tennessee?
Not permitted
Marijuana consumption lounges are NOT permitted in Tennessee. Marijuana is a Schedule VI controlled substance, there is no adult-use or dispensary-based medical program, and no statute authorizes any social-use, hospitality, or on-site cannabis consumption license. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Tennessee does expressly authorize on-premises consumption of HEMP-DERIVED cannabinoid products (delta-8, delta-9 from hemp, THC beverages). Public Chapter 526 of 2025 (HB 1376/SB 1413), signed May 27, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, moved hemp-derived cannabinoid product (HDCP) regulation from the Department of Agriculture to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Department of Revenue, and permits HDCP retail at 'an establishment that holds a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages on the premises,' which 'may only sell HDCPs in a quantity and manner intended for on-premise consumption while present at the establishment.' It also allows sale at establishments that limit entry to those 21 and over. Amendment 12 authorizes ABC licensees other than retail package stores to sell HDCP for on-premise consumption per commission rules. The law prohibits mixing HDCP with alcoholic beverages and restricts use in places covered by smoking bans. So the venues that function as 'lounges' in Tennessee are hemp-THC bars, THC-beverage taprooms and 21+ hemp shops, not marijuana lounges. Specific operating venue names and cities were not confirmed in this research pass — verify individually before listing.
Tennessee cannabis laws at a glance
- Legal status
- CBD / Low-THC Only
- Medical possession
- No conventional medical marijuana program and no possession allowance for marijuana. Tennessee's only medical carve-out (SB 118, 2021) excludes from the legal definition of marijuana CBD oil containing up to 0.9% THC, when the patient has a qualifying condition and holds a valid letter of attestation from a practitioner. There are no licensed in-state dispensaries; the law contemplates patients obtaining product from legal dispensaries in other states. No stated weight or volume possession cap was confirmed — verify with state regulator.
- Purchase limit
- No marijuana retail market exists, so no purchase limit. For the separate hemp-derived cannabinoid product (HDCP) market regulated by the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission under Public Chapter 526 (2025), the law sets serving-size and per-package quantity limits and a wholesale tax of one cent per milligram; exact per-transaction consumer caps not confirmed — verify with TABC.
- Home cultivation
- Prohibited entirely. Cultivating any amount of marijuana is a felony in Tennessee. Ten plants or fewer is a Class E felony carrying 1-6 years and up to a $5,000 fine, escalating to 15-60 years and up to a $500,000 fine at 500 or more plants. There is no medical or personal-use home grow exemption of any kind.
- Public consumption
- There is no lawful public consumption of marijuana because possession itself is illegal. Possession of one-half ounce or less is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year of incarceration plus a mandatory minimum fine of $250 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense (Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-418). Tennessee has no decriminalization statute; a few municipalities attempted local low-priority ordinances in prior years but state law preempts them and arrests continue at scale (roughly 11,117 cannabis possession arrests in 2025). Separately, Public Chapter 526 restricts use of hemp-derived cannabinoid products in public spaces covered by Tennessee's smoking prohibition laws.
- Out-of-state medical cards
- No. Tennessee does not recognize out-of-state medical marijuana cards and provides no legal protection to visiting patients. An out-of-state card is not a defense to a Tennessee possession charge. The one narrow exception runs the other direction: the low-THC CBD statute contemplates qualifying Tennessee patients obtaining CBD oil from legal dispensaries in other states with reciprocity provisions and possessing it in Tennessee with a practitioner's letter of attestation.
- Qualifying conditions
- Narrow and limited to the 0.9% THC CBD-oil carve-out, not a true medical program. Listed conditions include Alzheimer's disease, ALS, end-stage cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, HIV/AIDS, sickle cell disease, and conditions added by the Medical Cannabis Commission.
No listings in Tennessee yet
We have not verified any cannabis businesses in Tennessee so far. If you run a lounge, dispensary or shop here, you can put your city on the map.
Cities in Tennessee
Visiting Tennessee
Treat Tennessee as a full prohibition state. Your medical card from any other state means nothing here, and there is nowhere legal to buy or consume marijuana — Nashville, Memphis and Knoxville all sit under the same state law, and possession of even a half ounce is a misdemeanor carrying up to a year in jail and a mandatory fine. What Tennessee does have is a large, legal, ABC-regulated hemp-derived THC market: 21+ shops and, as of January 1, 2026, bars and restaurants with on-premises liquor licenses that can serve hemp-derived THC drinks and edibles for consumption on site. That is the realistic option for a visitor with no private residence, and it is why Nashville has a visible THC-beverage bar scene. Do not carry marijuana across the Tennessee line from a legal state, do not consume in a car, park or hotel doorway, and note that hemp product use is also barred in places covered by the state smoking ban.
What changed recently
Public Chapter 526 of 2025 (HB 1376/SB 1413) was signed May 27, 2025, effective for rulemaking May 21, 2025 and for all other purposes January 1, 2026. It transferred hemp-derived cannabinoid product regulation to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Department of Revenue, created supplier/wholesaler/retailer licensing, imposed a one-cent-per-milligram wholesale tax, banned direct-to-consumer shipping, set packaging, labeling, serving-size and age-verification rules, and expressly authorized on-premises HDCP consumption at ABC-licensed establishments. Marijuana law itself did not change. In the 2026 session roughly 27 cannabis bills were introduced — including proposals for non-binding November 2026 voter referendums on medical cannabis — but none advanced beyond subcommittee. HB 1972/SB 1603 would require legislative action before any federal rescheduling takes effect at the state level. Note: Tennessee has no citizen ballot initiative process, so any 2026 ballot question would be a legislature-referred, non-binding referendum, and none was confirmed as certified. Reported restrictions on THCA and smokable hemp flower were not confirmed in this pass — verify with TABC.
Tennessee cannabis questions
Is cannabis legal in Tennessee?
Only CBD / low-THC products are permitted as of 2026-07-19.
Can you smoke in public in Tennessee?
There is no lawful public consumption of marijuana because possession itself is illegal. Possession of one-half ounce or less is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year of incarceration plus a mandatory minimum fine of $250 for a first offense and $500 for a subsequent offense (Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-418). Tennessee has no decriminalization statute; a few municipalities attempted local low-priority ordinances in prior years but state law preempts them and arrests continue at scale (roughly 11,117 cannabis possession arrests in 2025). Separately, Public Chapter 526 restricts use of hemp-derived cannabinoid products in public spaces covered by Tennessee's smoking prohibition laws.
Are there cannabis lounges in Tennessee?
Marijuana consumption lounges are NOT permitted in Tennessee. Marijuana is a Schedule VI controlled substance, there is no adult-use or dispensary-based medical program, and no statute authorizes any social-use, hospitality, or on-site cannabis consumption license. IMPORTANT DISTINCTION: Tennessee does expressly authorize on-premises consumption of HEMP-DERIVED cannabinoid products (delta-8, delta-9 from hemp, THC beverages). Public Chapter 526 of 2025 (HB 1376/SB 1413), signed May 27, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, moved hemp-derived cannabinoid product (HDCP) regulation from the Department of Agriculture to the Alcoholic Beverage Commission and Department of Revenue, and permits HDCP retail at 'an establishment that holds a license for the sale of alcoholic beverages on the premises,' which 'may only sell HDCPs in a quantity and manner intended for on-premise consumption while present at the establishment.' It also allows sale at establishments that limit entry to those 21 and over. Amendment 12 authorizes ABC licensees other than retail package stores to sell HDCP for on-premise consumption per commission rules. The law prohibits mixing HDCP with alcoholic beverages and restricts use in places covered by smoking bans. So the venues that function as 'lounges' in Tennessee are hemp-THC bars, THC-beverage taprooms and 21+ hemp shops, not marijuana lounges. Specific operating venue names and cities were not confirmed in this research pass — verify individually before listing.
Can you grow cannabis at home in Tennessee?
Prohibited entirely. Cultivating any amount of marijuana is a felony in Tennessee. Ten plants or fewer is a Class E felony carrying 1-6 years and up to a $5,000 fine, escalating to 15-60 years and up to a $500,000 fine at 500 or more plants. There is no medical or personal-use home grow exemption of any kind.
Does Tennessee accept out-of-state medical marijuana cards?
No. Tennessee does not recognize out-of-state medical marijuana cards and provides no legal protection to visiting patients. An out-of-state card is not a defense to a Tennessee possession charge. The one narrow exception runs the other direction: the low-THC CBD statute contemplates qualifying Tennessee patients obtaining CBD oil from legal dispensaries in other states with reciprocity provisions and possessing it in Tennessee with a practitioner's letter of attestation.