DRUG OFFENSES

Overview

Drug crimes in Texas are some of the most commonly indicted crimes. Drug offenses can take the form of possession of controlled substances to manufacturing controlled substances to delivery of controlled substances. In fact, it is not at all uncommon for a person to be arrested and charged with possession of controlled substances AND manufacture and/or delivery of controlled substances which are two different crimes. In a lot of these cases the Government has the burden of proving that the person exhibited "care, custody or control" of the controlled substances to secure a conviction. This is where having an experienced criminal defense attorney comes in. We can evaluate the police procedure used to make sure it was proper. We can also evaluate the traffic stop to make sure reasonable suspicion existed. Additionally, if there was a search warrant used, we can confirm that the warrant was executed properly. If there wasnt a warrant used, we can determine whether one of the warrant requirement exceptions was met. Any one of these issues could result in your drug case being thrown out of court.

Penalty Groups

Controlled substances in Texas are also classified by Penalty Group. The most serious drugs like methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin are in Penalty Group 1. The groups go down in severity from there depending on the seriousness of the substance as judged by our legislature.

Punishment Ranges

Penalty Groups "PG" 1 & 2

  • Less than 1 gram:  State Jail Felony
  • Between 1 and 4 grams: 3rd Degree Felony
  • Between 4 and 200 grams (4 and 400 grams for PG 2): 2nd Degree Felony
  • Over 200 grams on PG 1 (over 400 grams for PG 2):  1st Degree Felony
  • 400 grams or more (PG 1):  Enhanced 1st Degree Felony (10 years to 99)

Penalty Group 1A

  • Less than 20 units: State jail felony
  • Between 20 and 80 units:  3rd Degree Felony
  • Between 80 and 4,000 units:  2nd Degree Felony
  • 4,000 to 8,000 units:  1st Degree Felony
  • Over 8,000 Units:  Enhanced 1st Degree Felony

Penalty Group 3 & 4

  • Less than 28 grams: Class A Misdemeanor
  • 28 to 200 grams: 3rd Degree Felony
  • 200 grams to 400:  2nd Degree Felony
  • 400 grams or more:  1st Degree Felony