In Texas, the same amount of two different drugs can be a misdemeanor or a felony. A drug charge is graded by which penalty group the substance falls in and how much it weighed, and the weight counts everything mixed in with it. Less than a gram of cocaine is a state jail felony. A vape cartridge of THC oil is a felony too, even though the same THC in a bag of marijuana would be a misdemeanor. And most drug cases are won or lost on something other than the drug: whether the police had the right to search, whether the State can tie the drugs to you, whether the lab work holds up, and whether you said anything that fills the gaps.
Call (713) 664-4000. If you were just arrested, don’t explain where the drugs came from to anyone, including the other people in the car.
How Texas grades drug possession
| Penalty group | Common examples | Possession grading by weight |
|---|---|---|
| 1 and 1-B | Cocaine, meth, heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone | Under 1 g: state jail felony. 1 to 4 g: third degree. 4 to 200 g: second degree. 200 to 400 g: first degree. 400 g or more: 10 to 99 years or life |
| 1-A | LSD | Graded by abuse units (doses). Fewer than 20: state jail felony, up to 15 to 99 years at 8,000 or more |
| 2 | MDMA (ecstasy), mushrooms, THC concentrates like vape oil and wax | Under 1 g: state jail felony. 1 to 4 g: third degree. 4 to 400 g: second degree. 400 g or more: 5 to 99 years or life |
| 3 | Xanax, Valium and other benzodiazepines | Under 28 g: Class A misdemeanor. 28 to 200 g: third degree. 200 to 400 g: second degree. 400 g or more: 5 to 99 years or life |
| 4 | Codeine cough syrup and other low-dose compounds | Under 28 g: Class B misdemeanor, rising with weight on the same scale as Group 3 |
| Marijuana | Plant marijuana | 2 oz or less: Class B. Up to 4 oz: Class A. Up to 5 lb: state jail felony. Up to 50 lb: third degree. Up to 2,000 lb: second degree. More: 5 to 99 years or life |
Sources: Health and Safety Code §§ 481.115 through 481.121. For the penalty groups, weight is the aggregate weight, “including adulterants or dilutants,” so the whole pill or all the oil in the cartridge counts, not just the drug inside it. That’s how a single THC cartridge becomes a felony, and how a pint of codeine syrup, weighed whole, lands in the 5-to-99-year range. Our pages on Xanax charges and THC pen charges go further, and Texas drug penalty groups explained lists what’s in each group.
Possession with intent, delivery and drug-free zones
Delivery and possession with intent to deliver are usually graded more harshly than possession of the same weight. For Group 1, 1 to 4 grams is a second-degree felony instead of third, and 4 to 200 grams is first degree (§ 481.112). Delivering fentanyl is a third-degree felony even under a gram (§ 481.1123). And if the State shows the offense happened in a drug-free zone, like within 1,000 feet of a school, a playground, a youth center or a college, the punishment goes up (§ 481.134). Since September 2025, using social media to arrange a delivery bumps it up a level as well (§ 481.142). Drug-free zones apply to possession too, so less than a gram of cocaine near a school goes from a state jail felony to a third-degree felony, and a zone-enhanced sentence can’t run at the same time as other sentences. The State usually tries to prove intent with packaging, scales, cash and texts, and that proof is often weaker than the charge suggests. See our pages on drug distribution, drug trafficking and fentanyl charges.
Small-amount felonies and mandatory probation
Many first drug arrests are state jail felonies: less than a gram of a Group 1 or Group 2 drug, or 4 ounces to 5 pounds of marijuana. If it’s your first felony conviction and the case isn’t enhanced, Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.551 requires the judge to give you probation rather than a state jail sentence. There are exceptions for more than a pound of marijuana, and it becomes the judge’s choice if you have a prior felony or are being adjudicated on a revoked deferred. The judge can still order up to 180 days in a state jail facility as a condition of that probation. That’s a floor, not a goal. A conviction is still a felony conviction, and the better outcomes are a dismissal, or a program like pretrial intervention that ends in one you can later expunge. Our page on whether first-time drug offenders go to jail covers the options.
How we defend drug charges
The search. Most drug cases start with a traffic stop or a search of a home. Police can’t extend a traffic stop to wait for a drug dog without reasonable suspicion (Rodriguez v. United States, 575 U.S. 348 (2015)). Consent has to be voluntary, a warrant needs more than a tip nobody checked, and searching your phone generally takes its own warrant unless you consent (Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373 (2014)). If the search was illegal, the evidence can be suppressed, and without the drugs there’s usually no case. See what grounds police need for a drug search.
Possession. The State has to prove you knowingly exercised control over the drugs. Being near them, or in the same car, isn’t enough without other facts linking you to them. That’s a real fight in shared cars and shared apartments. See the legal definition of possession and drugs found in a car.
The lab. A roadside field test isn’t proof. The substance has to be identified and weighed by a lab, and the grade of the charge depends on that weight. Since Texas legalized hemp in 2019, the State has to prove the substance isn’t hemp, meaning its delta-9 THC concentration is over 0.3 percent by dry weight. That normally takes a quantitative lab test, and when the State skips it, we make them answer for it. Jay Blass Cohen is an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist trained in forensic chromatography, and we read the lab file, the raw instrument data, the calibration records and the chain of custody the way a chemist would.
Results
A Harris County charge of possession with intent to deliver 400 grams or more of cocaine (46 kilos) was dismissed. See more of our case results. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Drug charges we defend in Houston
We handle every level of drug case, from a misdemeanor marijuana charge to a federal conspiracy: drug possession, possession of a controlled substance, drug manufacturing, drug conspiracy and federal drug charges.
Charged with a drug crime in Houston? Call Blass Law
Jay Blass Cohen has defended drug cases in Houston since 2009 and has never worked for the prosecution. We’ll look at how the police found the drugs and what the lab actually reported before we talk about any plea.
Call (713) 664-4000. If you were arrested this week, call now, while the stop video and the jail records are easy to get.
Related Drug Charges
Reviewed by Jay Blass Cohen, founder of Blass Law PLLC, ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist, certified Drug Recognition Expert, and SFST instructor, serving Houston since 2009. This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.