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In Texas, simple possession and what most people call “possession with intent to distribute” are charged under two different statutes. At the same drug weight, the intent charge is usually one or two full felony grades higher.

Simple possession falls under Section 481.115 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. Section 481.112 covers possession with intent to deliver. Texas calls the second charge intent to deliver, not intent to distribute. It is a separate offense, not an extra count added to a possession case.

Texas Does Not Charge “Intent to Distribute”

The charge is possession with intent to deliver, grouped in the same part of the Texas Health and Safety Code as manufacturing and delivery. Manufacturing, delivering, and possessing with intent to deliver all carry the same punishment tiers.

Deliver has a specific legal meaning under the statutory definition of deliver: a transfer counts whether it is actual or constructive, acting through an agent still counts, and so does an offer to sell. The wording matters. A search for distribution charges turns up pages written for other states, not the statute that actually sets the range here. If you want a broader look at how these offenses are charged generally, we break down the full range in our guide to Texas drug crimes.

What Counts as Simple Possession in Texas?

Simple possession in Texas means knowingly or intentionally having a controlled substance in your actual care, custody, control, or management without a valid prescription.

The drugs do not have to be in your hand or your pocket for that definition to apply. Heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine all fall under Penalty Group 1, the category the weight tiers below are built around. For a closer look at how possession itself is charged and defended, see what it means to possess a drug in Texas.

How Much Worse Is an Intent to Deliver Charge?

The table below breaks down exactly how much higher those grades run at each weight tier. Four grams of a Penalty Group 1 substance is a second-degree felony as a possession case. The same four grams is a first-degree felony as an intent case.

These grades come from the statute itself. They set the range a court can consider, not a prediction of what will happen in your specific case.

State jail felonies run 180 days to 2 years, third-degree felonies run 2 to 10 years, second-degree felonies run 2 to 20 years, and first-degree felonies run 5 to 99 years or life.

Below one gram is the only weight where the two statutes carry the same punishment range. Fine caps split at 400 grams: $100,000 for possession, $250,000 for intent to deliver.

Does the State Have to Prove You Sold Anything?

No. Texas does not require proof of a sale, a buyer, or any money changing hands. The legal definition of deliver covers transferring a controlled substance to another person, and it also covers offering to sell one.

Handing a substance to a friend for free can meet that definition. The transfer does not have to be hand to hand. Payment only changes the grade for marijuana. Under the marijuana delivery statute, a quarter ounce or less is a Class B misdemeanor without payment. With payment it is a Class A.

How Do Prosecutors Try to Prove Intent to Deliver?

Proving intent to deliver requires the State to build its case from the surrounding facts rather than any single piece of evidence: quantity beyond personal use, packaging materials, scales, large amounts of cash, or text messages referencing a sale.

Intent is an element on top of possession. The same facts can end up charged either way, depending on what else the State can show.

Do Marijuana Cases Work the Same Way?

Marijuana runs on its own set of penalty tiers. The possession tiers turn on weight alone. Under Section 481.121 of the Health and Safety Code, a usable quantity of two ounces or less is a Class B misdemeanor. Up to four ounces is a Class A misdemeanor. Up to five pounds is a state jail felony.

Delivery runs on its own scale. More than a quarter ounce up to five pounds is a state jail felony.

What Happens if the Arrest Was Near a School or Playground?

Texas raises the punishment for both possession and intent to deliver cases when the offense happens near certain places. Under Section 481.134(d) of the Health and Safety Code, a base-tier possession or intent to deliver charge, the kind this page covers, becomes a third-degree felony if it happened within 1,000 feet of a school or school board’s property, a youth center, or a playground, or on a school bus.

Higher-weight versions of both offenses carry their own, separate drug-free zone increases, keyed to a narrower distance and a different location list. A lawyer reading your charge can tell you which version actually applies.

Talk to a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney About Possession vs Intent to Distribute Charges

Whether your case is charged as simple possession or as what’s often searched online as possession vs intent to distribute in Texas, the weight and the location of the arrest are already doing most of the work in setting the punishment range. Both are worth reviewing with a defense attorney before your first court setting. Bring the charging document and any bond paperwork.

We are The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC, and we handle criminal defense in Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Houston, Harris County, and Katy, Texas. Call 832-662-1294 or contact us to have your charging document reviewed.

The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC – Texas Office
1600 Highway 6, Suite 480
Sugar Land, Texas 77478

Phone: (832) 786 2949
Fax: (832) 553 7765