(1) A person is guilty of trafficking in a controlled substance in the first degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully traffics in:
(a) Four (4) grams or more of cocaine;

Attorney's Note

Under the Kentucky Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
Class B felonybetween 10 and 20 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
Class C felonybetween 5 and 10 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
Class D felonybetween 1 and 5 yearsbetween $1,000 and $10,000
For details, see § 532.060

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Terms Used In Kentucky Statutes 218A.1412

  • Carfentanil: means any substance containing any quantity of carfentanil, or any of its salts, isomers, or salts of isomers. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010
  • Cocaine: means a substance containing any quantity of cocaine, its salts, optical and geometric isomers, and salts of isomers. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010
  • 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
  • Fentanyl: means a substance containing any quantity of fentanyl, or any of its salts, isomers, or salts of isomers. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010
  • Heroin: means a substance containing any quantity of heroin, or any of its salts, isomers, or salts of isomers. 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
  • Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
  • Second or subsequent offense: means that for the purposes of this chapter an offense is considered as a second or subsequent offense, if, prior to his or her conviction of the offense, the offender has at any time been convicted under this chapter, or under any statute of the United States, or of any state relating to substances classified as controlled substances or counterfeit substances, except that a prior conviction for a nontrafficking offense shall be treated as a prior offense only when the subsequent offense is a nontrafficking offense. See Kentucky Statutes 218A.010

(b) Two (2) grams or more of methamphetamine;
(c) Ten (10) or more dosage units of a controlled substance that is classified in
Schedules I or II and is a narcotic drug, or a controlled substance analogue;
(d) Any quantity of heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, or fentanyl derivatives; lysergic acid diethylamide; phencyclidine; gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), including its salts, isomers, salts of isomers, and analogues; or flunitrazepam, including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers; or
(e) Any quantity of a controlled substance specified in paragraph (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection in an amount less than the amounts specified in those paragraphs.
(2) The amounts specified in subsection (1) of this section may occur in a single transaction or may occur in a series of transactions over a period of time not to exceed ninety (90) days that cumulatively result in the quantities specified in this section.
(3) (a) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), or (d) of this section shall be guilty of a Class C felony for the first offense and a Class B felony for a second or subsequent offense.
(b) Any person who violates the provisions of subsection (1)(e) of this section shall be guilty of a Class D felony for the first offense and a Class C felony for a second or subsequent offense.
(c) Any person convicted of a Class C felony offense or higher under this section shall not be released on probation, shock probation, parole, conditional discharge, or other form of early release until he or she has served at least fifty percent (50%) of the sentence imposed in cases where the trafficked substance was heroin, fentanyl, carfentanil, or fentanyl derivatives.
Effective: June 27, 2019
History: Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 130, sec. 2, effective June 27, 2019. — Amended
2017 Ky. Acts ch. 168, sec. 5, effective June 29, 2017. — Amended 2015 Ky. Acts ch. 66, sec. 14, effective March 25, 2015. — Amended 2011 Ky. Acts ch. 2, sec. 9, effective June 8, 2011. — Amended 2002 Ky. Acts ch. 259, sec. 1, effective July 15,
2002. — Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 169, sec. 1, effective July 14, 2000. — Amended
1998 Ky. Acts ch. 606, sec. 63, effective July 15, 1998. — Created 1992 Ky. Acts ch.
441, sec. 12, effective July 14, 1992.