2005 Rhode Island Code - § 21-28-4.01.1 — Minimum sentence – Certain quantities of controlled substances.

    (a) Except as authorized by this chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell, or possess with intent to manufacture, or sell, a controlled substance classified in schedules I or II (excluding marijuana) or to possess or deliver the following enumerated quantities of certain controlled substances:

   (1) One ounce (1 oz.) to one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of heroin;

   (2) One ounce (1 oz.) to one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of:

   (i) Coca leaves, except coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine, ecgonine, and derivatives of ecgonine or their salts have been removed;

   (ii) Cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers;

   (iii) Ecgonine, its derivatives, their salts, isomers, and salts of isomers; or

   (iv) Any compound, mixture, or preparation which contains any quantity of any of the substances referred to in paragraphs (i) – (iii) of this subdivision;

   (3) One gram (1 g.) to ten grams (10 gs.) of phencyclidine (PCP) or one hundred (100) to one thousand (1,000) tablets of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine (PCP);

   (4) One-tenth of a gram (0.1 g.) to one gram (1 g.) of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) or one hundred (100) to one thousand (1,000) tablets of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD); or

   (5) One kilogram (1 kg.) to five (5 kgs.) kilograms of a mixture containing a detectable amount of marijuana.

   (b) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a crime, and upon conviction, shall be imprisoned not less than ten (10) years and may be imprisoned for a term up to fifty (50) years and fined not more than five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) nor less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000). In all these cases, the justice imposing sentence shall impose a minimum sentence of ten (10) years imprisonment and may only impose a sentence less than that minimum if he or she finds that substantial and compelling circumstances exist which justify imposition of the alternative sentence. The finding may be based upon the character and background of the defendant, the cooperation of the defendant with law enforcement authorities, the nature and circumstances of the offense, and/or the nature and quality of the evidence presented at trial. If a sentence which is less than imprisonment for a term of ten (10) years is imposed, the trial justice shall set forth on the record the circumstances that he or she found as justification for imposition of the lesser sentence.