TITLE 21
Food And Drugs
CHAPTER 21-28
Uniform Controlled Substances Act
ARTICLE 21-28-4.01
Offenses and Penalties
SECTION 21-28-4.01
§ 21-28-4.01 Prohibited acts A
Penalties.
(a)(1) Except as authorized by this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any
person to manufacture, deliver, or possess with intent to manufacture or
deliver a controlled substance.
(2) Any person who is not a drug-addicted person, as defined
in § 21-28-1.02(18), who violates this subsection with respect to a
controlled substance classified in schedule I or II, except the substance
classified as marijuana, is guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be
imprisoned to a term up to life or fined not more than five hundred thousand
dollars ($500,000) nor less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.
(3) Where the deliverance as prohibited in this subsection
shall be the proximate cause of death to the person to whom the controlled
substance is delivered, it shall not be a defense that the person delivering
the substance was at the time of delivery, a drug-addicted person as defined in
§ 21-28-1.02(18).
(4) Any person, except as provided for in subdivision (2) of
this subsection, who violates this subsection with respect to:
(i) A controlled substance, classified in schedule I or II,
is guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than
thirty (30) years, or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000) nor less than three thousand dollars ($3,000), or both;
(ii) A controlled substance, classified in schedule III or
IV, is guilty of a crime, and upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more
than twenty (20) years, or fined not more than forty thousand dollars
($40,000), or both; provided, with respect to a controlled substance classified
in schedule III(d), upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than five
(5) years, or fined not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or both.
(iii) A controlled substance, classified in schedule V, is
guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than one
year, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.
(b)(1) Except as authorized by this chapter, it is unlawful
for any person to create, deliver, or possess with intent to deliver, a
counterfeit substance.
(2) Any person who violates this subsection with respect to:
(i) A counterfeit substance, classified in schedule I or II,
is guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than
thirty (30) years, or fined not more than one hundred thousand dollars
($100,000), or both;
(ii) A counterfeit substance, classified in schedule III or
IV, is guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more
than twenty (20) years, or fined not more than forty thousand dollars
($40,000), or both; provided, with respect to a controlled substance classified
in schedule III(d), upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than five
(5) years, or fined not more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), or both.
(iii) A counterfeit substance, classified in schedule V, is
guilty of a crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than one
year, or fined not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or both.
(c)(1) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or
intentionally to possess a controlled substance, unless the substance was
obtained directly from, or pursuant to, a valid prescription or order of a
practitioner while acting in the course of his or her professional practice, or
except as otherwise authorized by this chapter.
(2) Any person who violates this subsection with respect to:
(i) A controlled substance classified in schedules I, II and
III, IV, and V, except the substance classified as marijuana, is guilty of a
crime and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than three (3) years,
or fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or both;
(ii) More than one ounce (1 oz.) of a controlled substance
classified in schedule I as marijuana is guilty of a misdemeanor except for
those persons subject to (a)(1) of this section and upon conviction may be
imprisoned for not more than one year, or fined not less than two hundred
dollars ($200) nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), or both.
(iii) Notwithstanding any public, special, or general law to
the contrary, the possession of one ounce (1 oz.) or less of marijuana by a
person who is eighteen (18) years of age or older and who is not exempted from
penalties pursuant to chapter 28.6 of this title shall constitute a civil
offense, rendering the offender liable to a civil penalty in the amount of one
hundred fifty dollars ($150) and forfeiture of the marijuana, but not to any
other form of criminal or civil punishment or disqualification. Notwithstanding
any public, special, or general law to the contrary, this civil penalty of one
hundred fifty dollars ($150) and forfeiture of the marijuana shall apply if the
offense is the first (1st) or second (2nd) violation within the previous
eighteen (18) months.
(iv) Notwithstanding any public, special, or general law to
the contrary, possession of one ounce (1 oz.) or less of marijuana by a person
who is under the age of eighteen (18) years and who is not exempted from
penalties pursuant to chapter 28.6 of this title shall constitute a civil
offense, rendering the offender liable to a civil penalty in the amount of one
hundred fifty dollars ($150) and forfeiture of the marijuana; provided the
minor offender completes an approved, drug-awareness program and community
service as determined by the court. If the person under the age of eighteen
(18) years fails to complete an approved, drug-awareness program and community
service within one year of the disposition, the penalty shall be a three
hundred dollar ($300) civil fine and forfeiture of the marijuana, except that
if no drug-awareness program or community service is available, the penalty
shall be a fine of one hundred fifty dollars ($150) and forfeiture of the
marijuana. The parents or legal guardian of any offender under the age of
eighteen (18) shall be notified of the offense and the availability of a
drug-awareness and community-service program. The drug-awareness program must
be approved by the court, but shall, at a minimum, provide four (4) hours of
instruction or group discussion and ten (10) hours of community service.
Notwithstanding any other public, special, or general law to the contrary, this
civil penalty shall apply if the offense is the first or second violation
within the previous eighteen (18) months.
(v) Notwithstanding any public, special, or general law to
the contrary, a person not exempted from penalties pursuant to chapter 28.6 of
this title found in possession of one ounce (1 oz.) or less of marijuana is
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than
thirty (30) days, or fined not less than two hundred dollars ($200) nor more
than five hundred dollars ($500), or both, if that person has been previously
adjudicated on a violation for possession of less than one ounce (1 oz.) of
marijuana under (c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection two (2) times in
the eighteen (18) months prior to the third (3rd) offense.
(vi) Any unpaid civil fine issued under (c)(2)(iii) or
(c)(2)(iv) of this subsection shall double to three hundred dollars ($300) if
not paid within thirty (30) days of the disposition. The civil fine shall
double again to six hundred dollars ($600) if it has not been paid within
ninety (90) days.
(vii) No person may be arrested for a violation of
(c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection except as provided in this
subparagraph. Any person in possession of an identification card, license, or
other form of identification issued by the state or any state, city, or town,
or any college or university, who fails to produce the same upon request of a
police officer who informs the person that he or she has been found in
possession of what appears to the officer to be one ounce (1 oz.) or less of
marijuana, or any person without any such forms of identification who fails or
refuses to truthfully provide his or her name, address, and date of birth to a
police officer who has informed such person that the officer intends to provide
such individual with a citation for possession of one ounce (1 oz.) or less of
marijuana, may be arrested.
(viii) No violation of (c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this
subsection shall be considered a violation of parole or probation.
(ix) Any records collected by any state agency or tribunal
that include personally identifiable information about violations of
(c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection shall not be open to public
inspection in accordance with § 8-8.2-21.
(3) Jurisdiction. Any and all violations of
(c)(2)(iii) and (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection shall be the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Rhode Island traffic tribunal. All money associated with
the civil fine issued under (c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection shall
be payable to the Rhode Island traffic tribunal. Fifty percent (50%) of all
fines collected by the Rhode Island traffic tribunal from civil penalties
issued pursuant to (c)(2)(iii) or (c)(2)(iv) of this subsection shall be
expended on drug awareness and treatment programs for youth.
(4) Additionally every person convicted or who pleads nolo
contendere under paragraph (2)(i) of this subsection or convicted or who pleads
nolo contendere a second or subsequent time under paragraph (2)(ii) of this
subsection, who is not sentenced to a term of imprisonment to serve for the
offense, shall be required to:
(i) Perform up to one hundred (100) hours of community
service;
(ii) Attend and complete a drug counseling and education
program as prescribed by the director of the Department of Behavioral
Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals and pay the sum of four
hundred dollars ($400) to help defray the costs of this program which shall be
deposited as general revenues. Failure to attend may result, after hearing by
the court, in jail sentence up to one year;
(iii) The court shall not suspend any part or all of the
imposition of the fee required by this subsection, unless the court finds an
inability to pay;
(iv) If the offense involves the use of any automobile to
transport the substance or the substance is found within an automobile, then a
person convicted or who pleads nolo contendere under paragraphs (2)(i) and (ii)
of this subsection shall be subject to a loss of license for a period of six
(6) months for a first offense and one year for each offense after.
(5) All fees assessed and collected pursuant to paragraph
(3)(ii) of this subsection shall be deposited as general revenues and shall be
collected from the person convicted or who pleads nolo contendere before any
other fines authorized by this chapter.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture,
distribute, or possess with intent to manufacture or distribute, an imitation
controlled substance. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a
crime and upon conviction shall be subject to the same term of imprisonment
and/or fine as provided by this chapter for the manufacture or distribution of
the controlled substance that the particular imitation controlled substance
forming the basis of the prosecution was designed to resemble and/or
represented to be; but in no case shall the imprisonment be for more than five
(5) years nor the fine for more than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(e) It shall be unlawful for a practitioner to prescribe,
order, distribute, supply, or sell an anabolic steroid or human growth hormone
for: (1) Enhancing performance in an exercise, sport, or game, or (2) Hormonal
manipulation intended to increase muscle mass, strength, or weight without a
medical necessity. Any person who violates this subsection is guilty of a
misdemeanor and upon conviction may be imprisoned for not more than six (6)
months or a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
(f) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly or
intentionally possess, manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to
manufacture or distribute any extract, compound, salt derivative, or mixture of
salvia divinorum or datura stramonium or its extracts unless the person is
exempt pursuant to the provisions of § 21-28-3.30. Notwithstanding any
laws to the contrary, any person who violates this section is guilty of a
misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, may be imprisoned for not more than one
year, or fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. The
provisions of this section shall not apply to licensed physicians, pharmacists,
and accredited hospitals and teaching facilities engaged in the research or
study of salvia divinorum or datura stramonium and shall not apply to any
person participating in clinical trials involving the use of salvia divinorum
or datura stramonium.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1974, ch. 183, § 2; P.L. 1982, ch. 151, § 1; P.L. 1985, ch.
154, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 346, § 1; P.L. 1986, ch. 457, § 1; P.L.
1988, ch. 521, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 198, § 1; P.L. 1989, ch. 523,
§ 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 44, art. 66, § 1; P.L. 1991, ch. 211, § 1;
P.L. 1991, ch. 256, § 1; P.L. 1992, ch. 418, § 4; P.L. 1995, ch. 370,
art. 14, § 5; P.L. 1995, ch. 370, art. 40, § 57; P.L. 2002, ch. 292,
§ 54; P.L. 2005, ch. 93, § 1; P.L. 2005, ch. 104, § 1; P.L.
2010, ch. 23, art. 18, § 1; P.L. 2011, ch. 366, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch.
221, § 1; P.L. 2012, ch. 233, § 1; P.L. 2014, ch. 68, § 2; P.L.
2014, ch. 71, § 2; P.L. 2015, ch. 98, § 1; P.L. 2015, ch. 110, §
1.)
