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Texas Defense Lawyers Explain Drug Trafficking Penalties

 

Texas Defense Lawyers Explain Drug Trafficking Penalties

Hey y’all, my name’s John and I’m a defense lawyer here in Texas. Today I wanted to have a plain talk with you about the penalties for drug trafficking charges in our state. I know it’s a scary topic, but stick with me and hopefully this’ll help you understand what someone’s facing if accused of trafficking.

First off, what exactly is “drug trafficking?” Basically it means making, delivering, or possessing a controlled substance with plans to deliver it to someone else. So if the cops think you’ve got a bunch of drugs on you and you’re gonna sell it, that’s trafficking. It’s more serious than just simple drug possession.

The Drug Penalty Groups

In Texas, we’ve got what’s called “penalty groups” for categorizing drugs based on how dangerous they supposedly are. There’s 4 main ones:

  • Group 1 – the hard stuff like heroin, meth, cocaine
  • Group 2 – hallucinogens like LSD plus some prescription painkillers
  • Group 3 – Valium, Xanax, steroids
  • Group 4 – weaker prescription drugs

The group the drug’s in affects how bad the punishment is if your convicted of trafficking it. Groups 1 and 2 are felonies while 3 and 4 can be misdemeanors for smaller amounts.

The Amount Matters

The quanitity of drugs they say you got also determines the charges. Even a little bit of something from Groups 1 or 2 means felony charges. But for Groups 3 and 4 you usually need larger amounts to face that – it’ll be a misdemeanor if you have just a small quantity.

Some examples:

  • Heroin (Group 1) – less than 1 gram is a felony
  • LSD (Group 2) – any amount is a felony
  • Steroids (Group 3) – less than 400 grams is a misdemeanor

So you can see how strict it is for the more dangerous drug categories in Texas.

Minimum Prison Sentences

A lot of drug trafficking charges come with mandatory minimum prison sentences here. That means if convicted, you HAVE to spend at least that long locked up no matter what. Even for a little bit of drugs it can be months or years, and for larger quantities or repeat offenses it’s decades.

Here’s some examples of minimums you’d face:

  • 5 grams of meth – 2 years
  • 200 grams of heroin – 5 years
  • 50 pounds of marijuana – 5 years

And if you already have a past drug conviction, any new trafficking charge can double the minimum sentence. So your back’s against the wall from the get-go.

Fines

On top of potential prison time, drug trafficking convictions often carry huge fines. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars even for smaller offenses. And the bigger the quantity, the bigger the fine can be – like $250,000 for high-level stuff!

Getting Help

So that gives you an idea of what someone’s looking at for drug trafficking charges here in Texas. Maybe it was a stupid mistake, or maybe they were down on their luck and made the wrong choice. Either way, these mandatory minimum sentences and fines are designed to be as punitive as possible.

If you or someone you care about gets accused of trafficking, don’t go it alone! Call up an experienced criminal defense lawyer right away – they can look at the details of the case and figure out the best defense strategy. There still may be ways to get the charges reduced or even dismissed. Don’t lose hope!

And if you do end up facing charges, your lawyer can also advocate for drug treatment rather than prison if appropriate. The court system can be more understanding than you might think.

Anyway, stay safe out there y’all. And think twice before doing anything that could be seen as drug trafficking under Texas law, ’cause you really don’t want to mess around with those penalties. Your defense lawyer’s got your back though, so make that call if you need help!

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