Amends TCA Title 39; Title 40 and Title 41.

Generally under present law, it is an offense for a defendant to: (1) Knowingly possess or casually exchange a controlled substance. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor; (2) Distribute a small amount of marijuana not in excess of 1/2 ounce. The offense is a Class A misdemeanor; and (3) Violate (2) or (3) above by the casual exchange to a minor from an adult who is at least two years the minor's senior, and who knows that the person is a minor. The offense is punished as a felony. This bill reduces from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C misdemeanor: a violation of (1) above, when the possession or exchange involves marijuana; and a violation of (2) above. This bill also revises (3) above to refer to "a casual exchange of a controlled substance, or a distribution of marijuana" to a minor. Generally present law imposes certain mandatory minimum fines upon a person's conviction of an offense involving a controlled substance, with different fine amounts depending on the substance and the number of prior convictions. This bill removes mandatory minimum fines for convictions involving marijuana and hashish. This bill adds that an inmate who is a nonviolent offender serving a sentence for a Class A misdemeanor conviction of (1)-(3) above for the possession, exchange, or distribution of marijuana is eligible for early release from confinement for that sentence after 30 days served.