(a)  This chapter may be cited as the “Rhode Island Controlled Substances Act”, and shall be so interpreted and construed as to effectuate its general purpose.

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Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.01

  • Control: means to add a drug or other substance or immediate precursor to a schedule under this chapter, whether by transfer from another schedule or otherwise. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • Manufacture: means the production, preparation, propagation, cultivation, compounding, or processing of a drug or other substance, including an imitation controlled substance, either directly or indirectly or by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis and includes any packaging or repackaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container in conformity with the general laws of this state except by a practitioner as an incident to his or her administration or dispensing of the drug or substance in the course of his or her professional practice. See Rhode Island General Laws 21-28-1.02
  • United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8

(b)  The general purposes of this chapter are as follows:

(1)  To establish a more rational system of regulating substances which may pose a danger to the public health;

(2)  To create a system for classifying the substances relative to their abuse potential, their medical utility, and their likelihood of creating dependency;

(3)  To fix penalties for the sale, possession, or manufacture of substances which are in proportion to their danger to the public health;

(4)  To develop a system of tracing the flow of substances in commerce and in health as to prevent their improper diversion;

(5)  To establish and define the powers of investigation, enforcement, and adjudication required to implement the above purposes; and to establish a system of substances control which is, to the extent possible, uniform with the laws of the United States and of its states.

History of Section.
P.L. 1974, ch. 183, § 2.