Carl David Ceder - Attorney and Counselor at Law

Possession of cocaine: Laws of Texas

Like all other areas of the world, there are some laws in the Texas that needs to be followed. Possessing or delivering cocaine is prohibited within the area. The details are clearly mentioned in the law of Texas. People who caught having cocaine or have seen delivering it to someone else has to face serious charges. Apart from jail, they have to provide heavy fine to the authorities as well. It is not easy to get along with the penalties when it comes to the possession of cocaine in Texas. There are some cases in which the punishment for possessing cocaine can be more than 99 years of imprisonment. The punishment will be in accordance with the amount of cocaine you possess.

Punishments for the possession of cocaine:

As explained above, the punishment for possessing cocaine depends on the quantity a person has. On the basis of this quantity, their future punishment will be decided. The details as per the law of Texas are explained below:

1.      Less than 1 gram:

A person who has cocaine less than one gram is considered as the state jail felony. According to the law, that person has to face imprisonment of minimum 180 days. It can be extended to 24 months as well in some cases. Apart from that, the convicted person also has to pay the fine of amount $10,000.

2.      1 to 4 grams:

The next category is the possession of 1 to 4 grams of cocaine. This offense is considered as the third-degree felony. According to the laws, a person has to remain in the jail for minimum 2 years. It can be extended to 10 years as well with the fine of $10,000.

3.      4 to 200 grams:

Possession of this much cocaine is considered as the second-degree felony which may result in the confinement of that specified person by the Texas Department of criminal justice. The time duration will be 2 years when minimum but can also be extended to 20 years along with the fine of $10,000 or more than that.

4.      200 to 400 grams:

As the quantity of cocaine is increasing, the punishment will also increase. For a person who has cocaine of 200 to 400 grams will have to face confinement of minimum 5 years and it can be extended to 99 years or for life. The amount of fine they have to pay will be up to $10,000.

5.      More than 400 grams:

Last, when a person possesses cocaine of more than 400 grams has to face confinement of minimum 10 years and maximum 99 years by the Texas Department of criminal justice. The fine will be more than $100,000.

It must be noted here that the punishment of a person may increase or decrease on the basis of a criminal record or other factors.