(1) (a) A person is guilty of trafficking in synthetic drugs when he or she knowingly and unlawfully traffics in synthetic drugs.
(b) Trafficking in synthetic drugs is a Class D felony for the first offense and a

Attorney's Note

Under the Kentucky Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class C felonybetween 5 and 10 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
Class D felonybetween 1 and 5 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
Class A misdemeanorup to 12 months up to $500
For details, see § 532.060 and § 532.090

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Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 218A.1430

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Drug: means :
    (a) Substances recognized as drugs in the official United States Pharmacopoeia, official Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States, or official National Formulary, or any supplement to any of them. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010
  • Person: means individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010
  • Synthetic drugs: means any synthetic cannabinoids or piperazines or any synthetic cathinones. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010

Class C felony for each subsequent offense.
(c) In lieu of the fine amounts otherwise allowed under KRS Chapter 534, for any offense under this subsection the court may impose a maximum fine of double the defendant‘s gain from the commission of the offense, in which case any fine money collected shall be divided between the same parties, in the same ratio, and for the same purposes as established for forfeited property under KRS § 218A.420.
(d) It shall be an affirmative defense to an offense under this subsection that the defendant committed the offense during the course of the defendant’s employment as an employee of a retail store and that the defendant did not know and should not have known that the trafficked substance was a synthetic drug.
(2) (a) A person is guilty of possession of synthetic drugs when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses synthetic drugs.
(b) Possession of synthetic drugs is:
1. A Class A misdemeanor for the first offense; and
2. A Class D felony for each subsequent offense.
Effective:April 27, 2016
History: Amended 2016 Ky. Acts ch. 135, sec. 9, effective April 27, 2016. — Created 2012 Ky. Acts ch. 108, sec. 1, effective April 11, 2012.