Did you know that in Tennessee a woman may be prosecuted for the illegal use of a narcotic drug while pregnant?
If the child is born addicted to or harmed by the drug, she can be charged with assault and prosecuted.
Tennessee is among the very few states that have a drug law like this.
It has to make you wonder though, what are some other Tennessee drug laws and penalties?
Knowing Tennessee Drug Laws and Penalties Helps Because of the chronic drug problem in the state, Tennessee law enforcement is serious about seeking and apprehending those in possession of drugs.
According to the criminal attorneys at Horst Law in Nashville, getting arrested and charged with possession means you could be facing suspension of your driver’s license, community service, fines, forfeiture of property, probation and even time in jail or prison.
So here are six laws you need to know right now to ensure that doesn’t happen:
Simple Possession You can be charged with simple possession if you have a controlled substance on your person, but it’s not enough to warrant a felony possession.
But if law enforcement finds a controlled substance in a car or house that is registered to you, that is also grounds for a simple possession charge.
Sale of a Controlled Substance If law enforcement observes you in a drug sale – or worse yet, you sell to an undercover officer – you’ll be charged with sale of a controlled substance.
Regardless of the amount, this is considered a felony offense.
Possession with Intent If the amount of drugs in possession is deemed more than what you would use for personal use, you can be charged with possession with intent. The state will then need to prove that you intended to sell the drugs.
The presence of scales, bags, and/or large quantities of cash increases the chances that you’d be charged with intent. And just as the sale of a controlled substance is a felony, so is the intention to sell it.
Manufacturing Of the many drugs that are synthetically produced, meth-related offenses are considered the harshest in Tennessee.
But production of natural drugs that require additional processing – such as cocaine and heroin – will also garner a manufacturing charge.
And since marijuana continues to be fully illegal in Tennessee, growing marijuana can also result in manufacturing charges.
Marijuana Producing pot is treated harshly in Tennessee and there are both state and federal penalties for doing so. Charges are based on the amount of marijuana.
Unfortunately, simply possessing operating components can lead to a charge.
And parts of plants can be considered entire plants under the law. So the government can claim larger numbers of plants than are truly present.
Drug Trafficking Drug trafficking is a serious charge.
Anyone suspected of engaging in the production, distribution, transportation, or sale of illegal substances can be slapped with a drug trafficking charge.
Stay Out of Trouble The best way to avoid the wrath of Tennessee drug laws and penalties is to avoid the use of controlled substances altogether when in the state. Then, keep track of any changes in drug laws.
Meanwhile, to stay aware of what’s new in and around Oklahoma, keep checking back with our blog.
This post is originally published at Halt.