New Drug Laws in Texas: Fentanyl, THC, and Marijuana Penalties

The new drug laws in Texas make three big shifts a resident should know about. Delivering fentanyl that kills someone can now be prosecuted as murder, with a sentence of five to 99 years or life. Delta-8 THC products lost the court protection that kept them on shelves, and a federal hemp law taking effect on November 12, 2026 will tighten the rules further. Marijuana is still illegal under state law even in cities that voted to decriminalize it.

Murder Charges for Fentanyl Delivery

House Bill 6, passed during the 88th Legislative Session, expanded the definition of murder under Texas Penal Code Section 19.02 to include delivering a Penalty Group 1-B substance when someone dies after using it.¹ If you knowingly manufacture or deliver one of these substances and someone dies from taking it, prosecutors can charge you with murder regardless of whether you intended to kill anyone. Murder is a first-degree felony punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison, plus a fine of up to $10,000.²

The law reaches beyond intentional conduct. HB 6 also created two lower-tier offenses tied to the defendant’s state of mind. Reckless manufacture or delivery of a Penalty Group 1-B substance resulting in death is a second-degree felony carrying two to 20 years. Delivery with criminal negligence resulting in death is a state jail felony.³ Prosecutors can now match the charge to the facts rather than choose between murder and an ordinary drug offense.

Causation still has to be proven. The state must show that the victim died from using the specific substance the defendant manufactured or delivered, and the statute applies whether that substance was used alone or mixed with another drug or cutting agent.¹ Anyone in the distribution chain who handled the substance can potentially be charged.

Fentanyl Possession Under the New Penalty Group 1-B

HB 6 also created a new Penalty Group 1-B dedicated to fentanyl and its chemical relatives. The group covers fentanyl itself, all fentanyl derivatives, and more than a dozen related synthetic opioids including carfentanil, alfentanil, sufentanil, and remifentanil.¹ Before this change, fentanyl sat alongside heroin and cocaine in Penalty Group 1. Pulling it out into its own group lets the state attach harsher penalties tuned to how lethal it is.

Possession and delivery penalties climb steeply by weight:

Less than 1 gram: third-degree felony (2 to 10 years, up to $10,000 fine)
1 gram to less than 4 grams: second-degree felony (2 to 20 years, up to $10,000 fine)
4 grams to less than 200 grams: enhanced first-degree felony (10 to 99 years or life, up to $20,000 fine)
200 grams to less than 400 grams: enhanced first-degree felony (15 to 99 years or life, up to $200,000 fine)
400 grams or more: enhanced first-degree felony (20 to 99 years or life, up to $500,000 fine)

Those weight thresholds include adulterants and dilutants, not just the pure substance.¹ Because fentanyl is almost always cut with other materials, the weight of the mixture is what gets charged. A small amount of pure fentanyl inside a larger package of cutting agents can push the aggregate weight into a much higher penalty tier.

Offenses involving Penalty Group 1-B substances near a school, playground, or youth center also trigger the drug-free zone enhancements in Texas Health and Safety Code Section 481.134. Near a school, the minimum prison term goes up by five years and the maximum fine doubles.⁴ Those enhancements sit on top of the base sentence.

Delta-8 THC After the Supreme Court Ruling

The legal status of Delta-8 in Texas changed in 2026. For years, retailers relied on a trial court injunction that blocked the Texas Department of State Health Services from treating Delta-8 as a controlled substance. Their argument leaned on the 2019 Hemp Farming Act (House Bill 1325), which defined hemp as cannabis with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis and said nothing directly about Delta-8.⁵

The Texas Supreme Court reversed that injunction. The court held that the department had acted within its authority and that the 2019 law did not legalize anything more than the trace amounts of Delta-8 that occur naturally in the plant. Because most commercial Delta-8 is manufactured from hemp-derived CBD rather than pulled directly from the plant, the court concluded those products qualify as synthetic THC under existing controlled substance schedules.⁶ The state now has a clear path to enforcement, including license revocation for businesses that continue to sell these products.

If you still see Delta-8 on store shelves, that isn’t a sign the products are legal. The underlying lawsuit continues and the hemp businesses involved have claims pending, but the injunction that protected the market is gone.

Federal Hemp Rules Changing in November 2026

Federal law is moving in the same direction. Congress passed P.L. 119-37 in November 2025, and the new rules take effect on November 12, 2026. The federal definition of hemp will now cover total THC rather than just Delta-9 THC, so a product has to contain less than 0.3% total THC on a dry weight basis to qualify as hemp.⁷

The new law caps finished hemp-derived cannabinoid products at no more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container, a fraction of what current products contain. It also excludes cannabinoids that are synthesized or manufactured outside the plant, which is the process behind most commercial Delta-8 products. The FDA is required to publish lists of intoxicating cannabinoids that will be prohibited from sale. Industrial hemp grown for fiber and seed is exempt.⁷

Marijuana: Local Decriminalization Doesn’t Change State Law

Voters in a growing list of Texas cities have approved measures directing local police to stop arresting people or issuing citations for low-level marijuana possession. Most cover two ounces or less; Dallas extended its measure to four ounces. Cities and counties that have adopted some form of reduced enforcement include Austin, Dallas, Denton, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, Harker Heights, El Paso, and Harris County.

The state treats those ordinances as violations of the Texas Controlled Substances Act. Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin, and Denton, alleging their ordinances instruct police not to enforce state drug laws.⁸ Dallas was sued separately after voters approved its four-ounce measure.⁹

The 88th Legislature added another tool. House Bill 17 defines it as official misconduct for a district or county attorney to adopt a blanket policy of refusing to prosecute a class of criminal offenses, and it creates a process for removing those prosecutors from office.¹⁰ HB 17 doesn’t mention marijuana, but a prosecutor who categorically refuses to bring marijuana cases could face removal under it.

If you live in a city with a decriminalization ordinance, the practical takeaway is narrow. A city officer may not arrest you, but state law still classifies marijuana as illegal, and state agencies including the Department of Public Safety are not bound by local policy. The lawsuits challenging these ordinances are still working through the courts.

Marijuana Possession Penalties Under State Law

State-law penalties for marijuana possession scale with the amount:

2 ounces or less: Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in jail and a $2,000 fine¹¹
More than 2 ounces but not more than 4 ounces: Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail and a $4,000 fine
More than 4 ounces but not more than 5 pounds: state jail felony, 180 days to 2 years and up to $10,000 fine
More than 5 pounds but not more than 50 pounds: third-degree felony, 2 to 10 years and up to $10,000 fine
More than 50 pounds but not more than 2,000 pounds: second-degree felony, 2 to 20 years and up to $10,000 fine
More than 2,000 pounds: first-degree felony, 5 to 99 years or life and up to $50,000 fine¹¹

The jump from misdemeanor to felony happens at four ounces. Cross that line and the consequences shift from county jail to a state jail or prison sentence, a potential felony record, and much higher fines. A felony drug conviction carries collateral consequences too, including trouble finding employment and housing, potential loss of professional licenses, and ineligibility for certain federal benefits.

What the Good Samaritan Law Does and Doesn’t Cover

Texas passed a Good Samaritan law in 2021 (House Bill 1694) to encourage people to call 911 during overdose emergencies. The immunity is narrow. It does not apply if the caller has any felony on their record or has already called 911 for an overdose within the previous 18 months.

Those limits carry more weight now that HB 6 is on the books. Someone who witnesses a fentanyl overdose and has a prior felony conviction gets no protection from the statute, and if they were involved in the delivery chain they could be exposed to the very charges HB 6 created. If you’re in that position, treat the legal risk of calling 911 as real, and weigh it against the fact that emergency care is what keeps an overdose from turning into a death.

Federal Charges on Top of State Charges

A drug offense in Texas can produce both state and federal charges for the same conduct. Under the separate sovereigns doctrine, Texas and the federal government each enforce their own drug laws independently, and prosecution or even acquittal in state court does not block a federal case based on the same events.¹² Federal drug penalties are often harsher than their state counterparts, and federal cases involving distribution near schools carry their own enhanced sentences under 21 U.S.C. § 860. Dual exposure is most likely in cases involving large quantities, trafficking across state lines, or fentanyl distribution resulting in death.

1
Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Bill 6 – Fentanyl Poisoning Death Certificate and Criminal Penalties
2
State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.32 – First Degree Felony Punishment
3
Texas Legislature Online. House Bill 6 Bill Analysis
4
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.134 – Drug-Free Zones
5
Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Bill 1325 – Hemp Farming Act
6
Supreme Court of Texas. DSHS v. Sky Marketing Corp.
7
Congressional Research Service. Change to Federal Definition of Hemp and Implications
8
Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Sues Five Cities Over Marijuana Policies
9
Office of the Attorney General. Attorney General Sues City of Dallas for Marijuana Ballot Measure
10
Texas Legislature Online. Texas House Bill 17 – Official Misconduct by Prosecuting Attorneys
11
State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code 481.121 – Offense Possession of Marihuana
12
Legal Information Institute. Separate Sovereigns Doctrine