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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT

     

     Introduced By: Representatives Potter, McNamara, Speakman, Bennett, Place, Slater,
Felix, Cruz, and Morales

     Date Introduced: March 01, 2023

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Section 21-28-4.01.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 21-28 entitled "Uniform

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Controlled Substances Act" is hereby amended to read as follows:

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     21-28-4.01.2. Certain quantities of controlled substances.

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     (a) Except as authorized by the chapter, it shall be unlawful for any person to possess,

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manufacture, sell, or deliver the following enumerated quantities of certain controlled substances:

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     (1) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable

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amount of heroin;

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     (2) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable

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amount of:

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     (i) Coca leaves, except coca leaves and extracts of coca leaves from which cocaine,

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ecgonine, and derivatives of ecgonine or their salts have been removed;

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

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

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     (iv) Any compound, mixture, or preparation that contains any quantity of any of the

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substances referred to in paragraphs (i) — (iii) of this subdivision;

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     (3) More than ten grams (10 gs.) of phencyclidine (PCP) or more than one thousand (1,000)

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tablets of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of phencyclidine (PCP);

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     (4) More than one gram (1 g.) of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD); or more than one

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thousand (1,000) tablets of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of lysergic acid

 

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diethylamide (LSD);

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     (5) More than five kilograms (5 kgs.) of a mixture containing a detectable amount of

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marijuana;

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     (6) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable

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amount of synthetic drugs; or

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     (7) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable

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amount of fentanyl or its analogs, including, but not limited to: N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)-N-

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phenylacetamide, its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers (acetyl

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fentanyl); N-(1-phenethylpiperidin-4-yl)-N-phenylfuran-2carboxamide (furanyl fentanyl); and N-

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Phenethyl-4-piperidinone (4-AN-PP); or

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     (8) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of a mixture or substance containing a detectable

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amount of carfentanil; or

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     (9) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of 3,4-methyl-enedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA),

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its optical, positional, and geometric isomers, salts, and salts of isomers; or

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     (10) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of amphetamine, its salts, optical isomers, and salts of

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its optical isomers; or

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     (11) More than one kilogram (1 kg.) of methamphetamine, its salts, and salts of its isomers;

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or

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     (12) More than twenty-eight and thirty-five hundredths grams (28.35 gs.) or one ounce (1

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oz.) of psilocybin.

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     (b) Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a crime, and upon conviction,

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may be imprisoned for a term up to life and fined not more than one million dollars ($1,000,000).

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     SECTION 2. Chapter 21-28 of the General Laws entitled "Uniform Controlled Substances

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Act" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

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     21-28-2.11. Exemptions for psilocybin.

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     (a) Nothing in this chapter shall apply to any compound, mixture, or preparation containing

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less than one ounce (1 oz.) of psilocybin provided the following conditions have been met:

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     (1) Psilocybin is in possession of one person or shared by one person to another; or

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     (2) Psilocybin has been securely cultivated within a person’s residence for personal use.

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     (b) Contingent upon the United States Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA’s)

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rescheduling of psilocybin the Rhode Island department of health shall establish rules and

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regulations pertaining to cultivation, distribution and medical prescription.

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     (c) Contingent upon the United States Federal Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) expansion

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of its access program, patients with a serious or life-threatening mental or behavioral health

 

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disorder, who are without access to effective mental or behavioral health medication, may have

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access to psilocybin at locations in Rhode Island approved by the Rhode Island department of

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health.

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     (d) The provisions of this act shall sunset on July 1, 2025, and prior to this sunset, the

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attorney general shall provide a report to the speaker of the house and president of the senate

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relating to the number of violations issued for possession, cultivation, or distribution of psilocybin,

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and the director of the department of health shall provide a report to the speaker of the house and

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president of the senate relating to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) scheduling of

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psilocybin and permitted use for the treatment of mental or behavioral health disorders.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect on July 1, 2023, and shall sunset on July 1, 2025.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO FOOD AND DRUGS -- UNIFORM CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT

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     This act would amend the current law on controlled substances to permit a person to be in

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possession of less than one ounce of psilocybin. It would also permit psilocybin to be securely

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cultivated within a person’s residence for personal use. The act would also, contingent on the US

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FDA’s rescheduling and expanding its access program, mandate that the RI department of health

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establish rules and regulations on the cultivation, distribution and medical prescription of

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psilocybin.

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     This act would take effect on July 1, 2023, and would sunset on July 1, 2025.

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