Texas Drug-Free Zone Defense Lawyers

If you are charged with a drug offense that occurred within 1,000 feet of certain protected locations in Texas, the penalties for the underlying offense are automatically enhanced to the next higher penalty category. This enhancement, found in Texas Health and Safety Code §481.134, can transform a misdemeanor into a felony, a state jail felony into a third-degree felony, and a third-degree felony into a second-degree felony which dramatically increases the potential prison time and other consequences.

Many people charged with drug-free zone enhancements had no idea they were in a drug-free zone. Your apartment may be within 1,000 feet of a school. The park where you were sitting may be 900 feet from a playground. The house where a friend lives may be within range of a daycare center. The enhancement applies regardless of whether you knew you were in the zone.

What Locations Create a Drug-Free Zone?

Under §481.134, the following locations trigger the drug-free zone enhancement within 1,000 feet:

• Schools — any public or private elementary, secondary, or post-secondary school (including universities)
• Playgrounds — any outdoor facility designed for recreational use by children
• Youth centers — any facility operated primarily for recreation or social activities for persons 17 years of age or younger
• Public swimming pools
• Video arcade facilities (that restrict entry to persons under 17)

Within 300 feet:

• Day care centers and child care facilities
• Places of worship (churches, mosques, synagogues, temples)
• Any institution of higher education (separate 300-foot zone)

• How the Enhancement Works

  The drug-free zone enhancement increases the minimum punishment range by one penalty level:

  • A Class B misdemeanor (e.g., marijuana under 2 oz) becomes a Class A misdemeanor
  • A Class A misdemeanor becomes a state jail felony
  • A state jail felony (e.g., PG2 under 1 gram, THC vape pen) becomes a third-degree felony
  • A third-degree felony becomes a second-degree felony
  • A second-degree felony becomes a first-degree felony

  The enhancement also imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of the minimum term for the enhanced penalty level. This means the judge cannot go below the minimum even if they believe a lower sentence is appropriate.