In July of 2011, our Client was arrested and charged by the Rhode Island State Police with possession of marijuana. Our Client was stopped by the police for a traffic violation and during the stop, the police found marijuana in his vehicle.
Pursuant to Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-4.01, 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.
If convicted for possession of marijuana, the penalties include:
(ii) A controlled substance classified in schedule I as marijuana is guilty of a misdemeanor 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.
The penalties for possession of controlled substances, other than marijuana are more severe and include:
(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;
(3) 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 no less than 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 mental health, retardation 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.
However, due to legal issues raised by Attorney Humphrey, the possession of marijuana charge was dismissed and is immediately eligible for expungement. Our Client was able to maintain his clean criminal record.
If you or a family member has been charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana or other drug related charges, please allow Attorney Robert H. Humphrey's reputation, experience and skill to successfully guide you through the legal process. Contact Robert H. Humphrey at 401-816-5862 or e-mail him at rhh@rhumphreylaw.com.