As hemp cultivation continues to grow in Tennessee, a new bill seeks to protect those in possession of industrial hemp products from being searched or their property seized by law enforcement due to the smell of cannabis.

HB274/SB279 has been proposed by Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and Representative Jay D. Reedy (R-Erin). Under the bill, those in possession of industrial hemp or it's isolates which do not contain more than 0.3% THC would not be subject to search and seizure based solely on their composition.

Police would also not be able to subject a person to search based solely on the detection of the odor of the cannabis plant.