LAWYER: 5 Tips to Beat A Drug Trafficking Charge In Texas (2025)

Описание: Drug Trafficking Charges in Texas: Before we jump into the 5 ways to attack a drug trafficking charge – let’s look at the three main things you can allegedly do to be charged with drug trafficking in Texas.

The State of Texas’s Definition of Drug Trafficking
The Texas Controlled Substances Act defines drug trafficking as the manufacturing or delivery of controlled substances. The act is a felony.
Controlled substances are divided into different penalty classes. The controlled substances in group 1 include the following:
• Cocaine
• Flunitrazepam
• Heroin
• Methamphetamine
• Morphine
• Opiates
• Oxycodone
If you knowingly transport, distribute, or possess with an intent to distribute controlled substances, you can be charged. Those are the actions you can take or ways you can be charged with drug trafficking in Texas. Let’s look at each one in a bit more detail.
Transporting
An individual knowingly transports drugs in a vehicle from one location to another.
If you are caught physically moving a large amount of illegal drugs from place to place, this is transporting, and is a type of drug trafficking.
Distribution
An individual knowingly distributes drugs from one person to another.
You don’t have to be moving the controlled substances in a vehicle or actually going anywhere yourself to be charged. Transferring them from one person to another in any way is distribution, another way to engage in drug trafficking.
So if you were storing drugs in your apartment and then handed them over to someone else to sell, this is a form of distribution and therefore trafficking.
Possessing with the Intent to Distribute
An individual knowingly possesses drugs with the intent of distributing them to at least one other person.
Let’s say you’ve got those drugs in your apartment. You’re not moving them and no one has come over to pick them up. This could still net you a trafficking charge if you are found with the substance because it will be assumed that you intended to distribute it.
Regardless of which trafficking action you are being accused of committing, the consequences are quite severe.
Penalties for Drug Trafficking Charges
Under Texas law, penalties vary based on the amount of drug in possession. Here is a breakdown of the amounts and penalties for drugs in group 1.
Less than 1 gram
State jail felony, punishable for 180 days to two years in state jail and a fine of $10,000.
Between 1 and 3.99 grams
Second degree felony, punishable for two to 20 years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
Between 4 and 199 grams
First degree felony, punishable for five to 99 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Between 200 and 399 grams
First degree felony, punishable for 10 years to life in prison and a fine of $100,000.
Over 400 grams
First degree felony, punishable for 15 years to life in prison, and fines up to $250,000.
Penalties will be slightly different for controlled substances in other schedules, but they will still be based on the amount of drug in question.
Moreover, federal charges and penalties may apply in drug trafficking cases. Federal penalties are much more serious than state penalties. Prison sentences are tougher, and fines can reach into the millions.
Whether you are charged with a state or federal crime, you will face additional penalties for repeat offenses.
Defenses to Drug Trafficking Charges
You will need the help of a skilled drug crimes attorney to fight your charges. Here are several possible defenses that may be used in your case.
• The arresting officer did not follow protocol in the search or seizure of evidence or in the traffic stop that led to the search and seizure
• The evidence is invalid because a warrant was not used.
• The evidence is not relevant to your case.
• The amount of the drug in question is incorrect.
• You did not knowingly or intentionally possess, transport, or distribute the drug.

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0:00 5 Ways to Beat A Drug Trafficking Charge In Texas
0:52 How does State of Texas define “Drug Trafficking?”
01:53 What does “Transporting” mean in a Drug Trafficking case?
02:28 What does “Distribution” mean in a Drug Trafficking case?
03:15 What does “possessing with intent to distribute” mean?
04:00 What are the penalties of Drug Trafficking?
05:05 What are the 5 ways to beat a Drug Trafficking charge?