Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-401 (2026)
Tennessee Drug Control Act
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) This part and title 53, chapter 11, parts 3 and 4 shall be known and may be cited as the "Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989."
- (b) Except as otherwise expressly permitted by state law, the state preempts the entire field of determining the appropriate sanction for conduct involving a drug or other substance that is classified by this part or title 53, chapter 11, as a Class A or B misdemeanor or a Class A, B, C, D, or E felony. No county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan form of government has the authority by ordinance, resolution, regulation, or other local law to enact or adopt a sanction for conduct involving a drug or other substance if the sanction for that conduct is established by this part or title 53, chapter 11, as a criminal offense other than a Class C misdemeanor. Any ordinance, resolution, regulation, or other local law enacted or adopted prior to April 12, 2017, regulating drugs and other substances that is inconsistent with this part and title 53, chapter 11, is superseded and repealed. Any policy, guideline, or practice of any agency, department, or employee of a county, city, town, municipality, or metropolitan form of government that regulates or permits the enforcement of conduct covered by this subsection (b) in a manner inconsistent with state law is void.
Amended by 2017 Tenn. Acts, ch. 124,s 1, eff. 4/12/2017.
Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases, 1999–2016 · leading case: State v. Thornton, 10 S.W.3d 229 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999).
State v. Thornton, 10 S.W.3d 229 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§ 39-17-401. This act defines drug related charges, defines and schedules controlled substances, and sets penalties.”
State v. Jenkins, 15 S.W.3d 914 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “The state responds that the Act requires no mens rea component because it merely enhances punishment for certain violations of the Tennessee Drug Control Act, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-401 , et seq., and is not a separate offense statute.”
Vernon Lockhart v. Comm'r of The Tennessee Dep't of Saf. (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016). “See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-401 , et. seq.; 53-11-451 (“Tennessee Drug Control Act”).”
Charles A. Harmon v. James J.J. Jones (Tenn. Ct. App. 2012). “2 The appellants asserted that they had not violated any law that justified the KCSD seizing their property under the Tennessee Drug Control Act, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-401, et seq. or the forfeiture provision of Tennessee Code Annotated section 53-11-451 ( Tenn.”
State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008). “” T.C.A. § 39-17-401(6) (1997). “Sale” is defined by case law as “a bargained for, offer and acceptance and an actual or constructive transfer or delivery of the substance.”
State of Tennessee v. Roshad Romanic Siler (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007). “Tennessee Code Annotated sections 39-17-401 to -451 are known as the Tennessee Drug Control Act and are a comprehensive scheme designed to regulate the illegal traffic in and use of controlled substances, certain counterfeit substances, and drug paraphernalia.”
Cook v. Dep't of Saf. State of Tennessee (In Re Cook), 421 B.R. 446 (Bankr. W.D. Tenn. 2009). “On February 24, 2009, approximately five months prior to entry of the debtors’ discharge, the debtors’ 1999 Nissan Alti-ma, (“Nissan”), was seized by the State of Tennessee Department of Safety, (“Department of Safety”), and the Jackson Metro Narcotics Unit, (“Narcotics Unit”)…”
State of Tennessee v. Charles William Reed (Tenn. Crim. App. 2016). “The affidavit sought to establish that the police had “probable cause to believe that certain evidence of criminal activity, to wit: violations of state laws as set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated Sections 39-17-401 et seq. [Tennessee Drug Control Act of 1989], will be found…”
State vs.Jasper D. Lewis (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§ 39-17-401(b) (1997). The sentence for a Range I offender convicted of a Class C felony is between three and six years.”
Knoll Pharm. Co. v. Sherman, 57 F. Supp. 2d 615 (N.D. Ill. 1999). “(Mi-chie 1998); Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-17-401 et seq., 53-11-301 et seq.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-401(6) — 1 case
State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner (Tenn. Crim. App. 2008). “” T.C.A. § 39-17-401(6) (1997). “Sale” is defined by case law as “a bargained for, offer and acceptance and an actual or constructive transfer or delivery of the substance.”
— Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-401(b) — 1 case
State vs.Jasper D. Lewis (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). “§ 39-17-401(b) (1997). The sentence for a Range I offender convicted of a Class C felony is between three and six years.”
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