Cocaine possession is having the substance for personal use. Cocaine trafficking is a separate, more serious felony charge based on possession of a quantity above the statutory trafficking threshold (typically 1 ounce in Rhode Island), regardless of whether actual distribution evidence exists. Trafficking carries multi-year mandatory minimum prison sentences and large fines. The weight measurement is critical because possession just under the threshold carries dramatically lower penalties than possession just over. Defense work on trafficking cases often focuses on contesting the weight (does it include packaging?) and challenging the chain of custody on the lab analysis.
