Tennessee has not legalized medical or recreational cannabis, so Chattanooga has no dispensary licensing scheme. Storefronts selling marijuana products are illegal statewide; only narrow CBD-hemp retail under the Tennessee Hemp Act is permitted at retailers.
Chattanooga cannot license cannabis dispensaries because Tennessee state law (Title 39, Chapter 17) classifies marijuana as a Schedule VI controlled substance. Only the Tennessee Hemp Act (Title 43, Chapter 27) allows hemp-derived CBD with under 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Storefronts marketed as smoke shops, hemp shops, or CBD shops operate under general business licensing, not cannabis-specific zoning. Sales of marijuana, edibles with cannabis-derived THC, or unlicensed THC products are criminal offenses prosecuted by Hamilton County District Attorney.
Operating a marijuana dispensary is a Class E felony under TCA 39-17-417, with prison time and asset forfeiture. Chattanooga code enforcement also pursues zoning and business-license violations.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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See how Chattanooga's dispensary zoning rules stack up against other locations.
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