Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 220.21 Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first
degree.
A person is guilty of criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree when he or she knowingly and unlawfully possesses:
1. one or more preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances containing a narcotic drug and said preparations, compounds, mixtures or substances are of an aggregate weight of eight ounces or more; or
2. methadone and said methadone weighs five thousand seven hundred sixty milligrams or more.
Criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree is a class A-I felony.
A person knowingly and unlawfully commits first-degree possession by possessing:
The offense is a class A-I felony.
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.