Tennessee Code Annotated
Tenn. Code Ann. § 53-10-105 (2026)
Possession without prescription unlawful
✓ current as of May 2026
- (a) It is unlawful for any person to have in the person's possession, any drug defined or enumerated in this part, without the drug having been prescribed by a duly licensed physician, certified physician assistant, dentist, optometrist authorized pursuant to § 63-8-102(12), or veterinarian, and having been dispensed by a pharmacy duly licensed and registered in this state, unless the person was a resident of another state and had the prescription filled by a duly licensed and registered pharmacist of the other state.
- (b)
- (1) This section does not apply to authorized agents and representatives of pharmaceutical manufacturers, firms or wholesalers.
- (2) Nothing in this section applies to a licensed physician, certified physician assistant, dentist, optometrist authorized pursuant to § 63-8-102(12), or veterinarian, nor to the drugs under the control of the physician, certified physician assistant, dentist, optometrist authorized pursuant to § 63-8-102(12), or veterinarian in the practice of that person's profession, and the exemption includes a nurse authorized pursuant to § 63-6-204 or § 63-9-113, who is rendering service under the supervision, control and responsibility of a licensed physician, and who meets the requirements pursuant to § 63-7-207(13).
Acts 1955, ch. 89, § 1; 1963, ch. 369, §§ 2, 4; T.C.A., § 52-1206; Acts 1987, ch. 217, § 4; 1987, ch. 244, §§ 1, 3, 5; 1994, ch. 722, § 4; 1996, ch. 754, § 2; 2000, ch. 541, §§ 2, 3.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 1
case, 2009–2009 · leading case: State of Tennessee v. Ricky Joe Headley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009).
State of Tennessee v. Ricky Joe Headley (Tenn. Crim. App. 2009). “bution of a legend drug,1 a Class C misdemeanor, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 53-10-104, twelve counts of possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-17-418, and one count of possession of a…”
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