Tennessee's Drug-Free Zone Law: A Comparative Analysis

Abstract

Effective policy implementation is significant to any legal regime. This report is the first academic work to squarely confront the failing efforts of Tennessee’s Drug-free Zone Law (“DFZL”). Contemporary research and statistical data demonstrates that DFZLs throughout the U.S. are failing to effectively implement the policy behind the laws and are causing unintended, negative consequences. Drug-free zone legislation aims to ensure the safety and well-being of children and their surrounding communities by discouraging drug activity near locations children frequent, such as schools or parks. In this effort, jurisdictions prohibit drug activity within a certain proximity of contemplated locales. Findings, however, demonstrate that the buffer zones employed under these laws, when not adequately tailored to the jurisdictional needs of a state, often render the primary deterrent value of the law ineffective and cause significant disparate impacts on minorities and lower-income classes. This report uses statistical research and comparative analysis to analyze the current state of drug-free zone legislation in the United States. The insight provided demonstrates that Tennessee is likely suffering from unintended effects of its DFZL. This report proposes an immediate reformation of Tennessee’s DFZL, and at its very least, serves as a call to action for the Tennessee General Assembly to implement an institutionally driven evaluation of the law in an effort to ensure the effectiveness and value of the legislation.