PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island's attorney general is proposing that possession of small amounts of narcotics be charged as misdemeanors instead of felonies.

Attorney General Peter Neronha told The Providence Journal that the proposal is aimed at helping people struggling with addiction to get treatment.

Under the proposal, someone charged with simple possession, without any intent to deal the drug, would face up to one year in prison, rather than up to three years. The bill is being sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael McCaffrey of Warwick.

Neronha is expected to discuss his proposal at an event Monday night.

Stephen Dambruch, chief of attorney general's criminal division, says that of the more than 1,100 felony drug cases brought in 2018, more than 660 involved only a drug possession charge.