Drug Crimes Lawyer In Conroe, TX
In Montgomery County, misdemeanor and felony drug cases are heard in different buildings, and the level depends on the substance, the weight the lab reports and whether the state calls the conduct possession or delivery. This page gives an overview of the charges, the penalties, the defenses and the process.
What Are Drug Crimes Under Texas Law?
Texas drug offenses are defined in the Texas Controlled Substances Act, Health and Safety Code Chapter 481. Each drug sits in a penalty group, and the group, the aggregate weight from the lab and whether the conduct is possession or delivery set the level. A drug-free zone, a weapon or a prior record can raise the range.
Source: Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 481, Texas Controlled Substances Act
Understanding Texas Law
How Does Texas Law Grade Drug Offenses In Montgomery County?
A Texas drug charge is graded by three facts: what the substance is, how much of it the lab weighed, and whether the state calls the conduct possession or delivery. Change one of them and a misdemeanor can become a felony, or a state jail felony can become a first degree case.
The substance matters because Chapter 481 of the Health and Safety Code places each controlled drug in a penalty group, and every group has its own weight scale. Marijuana sits outside the groups, in sections of its own. The penalty groups page sets out the tiers.
Weight means aggregate weight, the whole mixture including cutting agents and fillers, not just the pure drug. A pressed tablet is weighed whole, even when the controlled substance is a small part of it.
The same quantity can support different charges.
- One bag in a jacket pocket points to possession
- The same amount split into small baggies, with a digital scale and price texts on a phone, can point to delivery
- Working with others to move a drug can add a conspiracy or organized crime count
- A school zone, a weapon or a prior felony can raise either charge under the enhancement statutes
For a Penalty Group 1 drug, delivery is graded one degree above possession of the same amount from one gram up to 200 grams. Below one gram the two share a level.
Penalties And Consequences
What Are The Penalties For Drug Crimes In Texas?
The penalty group and the lab weight set the range, and the conduct moves it up or down. These are the most the law allows for the common charges, not predictions for any one case.
State jail felony, 180 days to 2 years.
Class B misdemeanor, up to 180 days in jail.
Class A misdemeanor, up to one year in jail.
First degree felony, 5 to 99 years or life.
- Marijuana, 2 ounces or less
- Class B misdemeanor: up to 180 days in county jail and a fine of up to $2,000. More than two ounces and up to four ounces is a Class A misdemeanor.
- Penalty Group 3, under 28 grams
- Class A misdemeanor: up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Alprazolam and diazepam are in this group.
- Penalty Group 1 or 1-B, under 1 gram
- State jail felony: 180 days to 2 years in a state jail facility and a fine of up to $10,000. Penal Code § 12.44 lets the court impose Class A misdemeanor punishment instead.
- Penalty Group 1 possession, 1 to 4 grams
- Third degree felony: 2 to 10 years in prison.
- Penalty Group 1 delivery, 1 to 4 grams
- Second degree felony: 2 to 20 years in prison.
- Penalty Group 1, 4 to 200 grams
- Possession is a second degree felony, 2 to 20 years. Delivery of the same amount is a first degree felony, 5 to 99 years or life.
Higher weights carry higher ranges, and each group has its own scale. The tiers for every group are on the penalty groups page.
Real Questions
What Do People Ask About Drug Charges In Texas?
What separates possession from delivery?
What if the drugs were not mine?
Can a prescription pill lead to a charge?
What if a teenager is the one charged?
Does an online or social media sale change the charge?
Possible Defenses
How Can A Drug Charge Be Defended?
Most drug cases come down to two questions: how the substance was found, and what the lab says it is. An attorney reviews the stop, the search, the lab file and the facts that connect the accused to the substance. No result can be promised.
A drug found in an unlawful search may be excluded under Code of Criminal Procedure art. 38.23. The defense strategies page covers the wider range of challenges.
A conviction reaches past the sentence.
A felony conviction of any kind brings state and federal limits on firearms. A controlled substance conviction carries federal immigration consequences for a noncitizen, which attach to the conviction whatever the sentence. Background checks used by employers, landlords and licensing agencies also pick it up.
How a case ends decides what can be cleared later. A dismissal or acquittal can lead to expunction, and some completed deferred adjudications can open a nondisclosure order.
The Search
Was there a warrant, valid consent or a recognized exception?
The Lab Report
Do the instrument data, the identity and the weight support the charge?
Knowledge And Control
Can the state show more than presence near the substance?
Intent To Deliver
If delivery is charged, does the evidence prove a plan to sell or transfer?
The Enhancement
Can a zone, weapon or prior felony allegation actually be proven?
The Record Later
Which ending would leave the door open to sealing or expunction?
Local Process
What Happens After A Drug Arrest In Montgomery County?
Whichever agency made the arrest, the seized substance goes to an accredited crime laboratory for identification and weighing, and the filed charge follows the lab's numbers rather than the roadside kit. The steps after booking are laid out on the drug charge information page.
Arrest And Booking
The person is booked and brought before a magistrate, who sets bond.
Lab Testing
The substance is identified and weighed, and the report can take time to arrive.
Charging
A misdemeanor is filed by the prosecutor. A felony goes to a grand jury unless indictment is waived.
Evidence And Resolution
The defense requests the state's evidence, and the case moves toward dismissal, a plea or trial.
- Misdemeanor cases
- Filed in one of the Montgomery County Courts at Law and prosecuted by Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. These courts sit in a different building from the felony courts.
- Felony cases
- Presented to a grand jury and heard in the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on 207 W Phillips St, prosecuted by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.
- Who makes the arrest
- Conroe Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Texas DPS Highway Patrol, Montgomery County Constables, Precincts 1 through 5, Willis Police Department, Shenandoah Police Department, Oak Ridge North Police Department, Magnolia Police Department, Splendora Police Department, or Roman Forest Police Department.
- Where you are booked
- The Montgomery County Jail at 1 Criminal Justice Drive, run by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office.
- If the case is appealed
- Appeals go to the Ninth Court of Appeals in Beaumont.
- If the case is federal
- The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, with appeals to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Arrest by local officers starts a state case. A case can move to federal court when it grew out of a federal investigation, crossed state lines, came through the mail, or involved quantities that federal prosecutors chose to take. Federal drug law works through mandatory minimums and the Sentencing Guidelines, which are different from Texas punishment ranges.
Next Steps
What Should You Do After A Drug Charge?
What happens in the weeks before the lab report arrives can shape the case. The steps below are general information, not advice for any one person.
Stop Explaining
You can decline to answer questions and ask for a lawyer.
Save The Paperwork
Keep the bond, the property receipt and every court notice.
Record The Details
Write down where, when and how the stop and any search happened.
Follow Bond Rules
Attend every test, check-in and court date.
Read The Charge
Find the penalty group, the weight and the level on the paperwork.
Ask About Your Record
The way a case ends decides what can be cleared later, so ask early.
Talk to a lawyer while every option is still open. Mitchell Law Firm offers a confidential conversation about a drug charge in Montgomery County.
Official Texas Sources
Read The Law Behind This Page
- Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 481: Texas Controlled Substances Act
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 12: punishment ranges and Section 12.44
- Texas Penal Code Chapter 71: organized crime
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 38: evidence and the exclusionary rule
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 42A: community supervision
- Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Chapter 55A: expunction of records
- Texas Government Code Chapter 411: orders of nondisclosure
- Texas Family Code Chapter 51: juvenile justice code
- United States Code Title 21, Chapter 13: federal controlled substances law
Who Handles Your Case
The Texas Lawyer Who Speaks Science
Attorney Brennon Mitchell isn't just a seasoned Conroe trial lawyer. He's one of the few in Texas, and the entire country, to earn the prestigious title of an ACS-CHAL Forensic Lawyer-Scientist. That means he's gone beyond the courtroom and into the laboratory, receiving in-depth, hands-on training in forensic chromatography, the same kind of testing used by crime labs to try and convict Texans every day.
What does that mean for you?
It means when the state uses blood alcohol or drug testing to try to prove its case, Mr. Mitchell knows how to challenge it. He's trained to:
- Analyze lab results and spot faulty science
- Cross-examine forensic experts with precision
- Break down complex chemical evidence in plain language for juries
This is not the kind of background you find in most criminal defense attorneys, and it could make the difference between a conviction and a clean slate.
Brennon graduated from Texas A&M University School of Law and practices from offices in Orange and Conroe.
Client Reviews
What Clients Say About Brennon Mitchell
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different and is decided on its own facts.
Drug Charges
Drug Charges We Handle In Conroe
Drug Possession
Knowing possession of a controlled substance, graded by penalty group and lab weight from a misdemeanor up to a first degree felony.
Drug Distribution
Manufacture, delivery and possession with intent to deliver, charged a level above possession once the weight passes the lowest tier.
Drug Conspiracy
Criminal conspiracy under Penal Code § 15.02 and engaging in organized criminal activity under § 71.02, built on agreements, messages and co-defendants.
Drug Diversion
Forged and altered prescriptions, deception of prescribers, and medication taken from workplace stock, charged mainly under § 481.129.
Juvenile Drug Crimes
Drug cases against children aged 10 through 16, heard in juvenile court under Title 3 of the Texas Family Code.
Internet Drug Crimes
Buying, selling or shipping controlled substances through websites, apps, social media or the mail.
Drug Crime Enhancements
Drug-free zones, deadly weapon findings, prior convictions and group allegations that move a drug charge up a level.
Drug Penalty Groups
The Texas penalty groups and their weight tiers for possession and delivery, gathered in one reference.
Drug Charge Information
A step-by-step guide to a drug case in the county, from booking and bond through the crime lab to the courthouse.
Drug Crime FAQ
Straight answers to the questions that follow a drug arrest in Montgomery County, tied to the Texas statutes.
Common Questions
Drug Charge Questions People In Conroe Ask
Where is a drug case heard in Conroe, TX?
Montgomery County divides drug cases by level. Misdemeanor charges, such as two ounces or less of marijuana or under 28 grams of a Penalty Group 3 drug, are filed in one of the county's Courts at Law. Felony charges, which include possessing even less than a gram of methamphetamine or cocaine, go to the district courts at the Montgomery County Criminal Justice Center on West Phillips Street in Conroe.
Is a first drug charge in Montgomery County a felony?
The level turns on the substance and the amount, not on whether it is a first arrest. Possessing less than one gram of a Penalty Group 1 or 1-B substance, which includes methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin and fentanyl, is a state jail felony under Health and Safety Code § 481.115 even with a clean record. A first arrest for two ounces or less of marijuana is a Class B misdemeanor.
Who prosecutes felony drug cases in Conroe, TX?
Felony drug cases in Montgomery County are prosecuted by the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, which has its offices in the Criminal Justice Center on West Phillips Street, the same building as the felony courts. A felony drug charge reaches a district court through a grand jury indictment unless the accused waives indictment.
What happens to the drugs seized in a Conroe, TX arrest?
The substance is logged as evidence and sent to a crime laboratory, which identifies it and weighs it. A roadside field kit is only a screening step. The lab report supplies the identity and the weight that decide the penalty group and the weight tier in the charging document, so the filed charge can differ from the one written on the arrest report.
What outcomes can a Montgomery County drug case end in?
Texas law provides for dismissal, reduction to a lesser offense, deferred adjudication where the statute permits it, a plea with community supervision or confinement, pretrial diversion where a program accepts the case, and trial. A state jail felony can also be punished as a Class A misdemeanor under Penal Code § 12.44. The charge, the record and the evidence decide which of these are open.
Can a drug arrest in Conroe, TX be cleared from a record?
Texas offers two tools. Expunction removes and destroys arrest records and is available after an acquittal and, once statutory conditions are met, after a dismissal. An order of nondisclosure seals a record from most public view and can follow completed deferred adjudication, subject to waiting periods and excluded offenses. A final felony drug conviction is generally not eligible for either.
Mitchell Law Firm, PLLC
Start With The Charge On Paper
The lab report and the filing decision come early in a drug case. Call or request a consultation to go over the charge while every option is still open.
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