The Texas Controlled Substances Act is complicated. There are simply many, many controlled substances. The reason these substances are "controlled" is primarily because of their potential for abuse. These controlled substances have strange and bizarre-sounding names that only analytical chemists are comfortable pronouncing, like "dimethoxyamphetamine," like "N-benzylpiperazine," or "mecloqualone." It is difficult to pronounce these words or spell them, much less identify them or understand what exactly they are. Texas classifies and divides up controlled substances into four penalty groups. Each of these groups have different punishments based on both how dangerous the drugs are considered by both medical and legal authorities as well as how much medical value they have. Chapter 481 of the Texas Health and Safety Code lists all of the controlled substances, and there are a lot of them. These are all included in the end notes. The charts below state the penalties for Possession of a Controlled Substance. However, Marijuana is not included in these penalty groups.  

Penalty Group 1 (measured in grams)

Amount Penalty Fine
Less than one  State Jail Felony Up to $10k
More than one and less than four  Third Degree Felony Up to $10k
Four and 200  Second Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 200 and less than 400  First Degree Felony Up to $100k
More than 400  Ranges from 10 and 99 years in prison Up to $100k

Penalty Group 1A – Only Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD) (measured in "units")

Amount Penalty Fine
Fewer than 20  State Jail Felony Up to $10k
More than 20 and fewer than 80  Third Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 80 and fewer than 4,000 Ranges from 5 and 20 years in prison Up to $10k
More than 4,000  Ranges from 15 and 99 years in prison Up to $250k

Penalty Group 2 – PCP, Mescalin, Ecstasy (measured in grams)

Amount Penalty Fine
Less than one  State Jail Felony Up to $10k
More than one and less than four  Third Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than four and less than 400  Second Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 400  First Degree Felony Up to $100k 

Penalty Group 3 – Xanax, Ambien, Valium (measured in grams) 

Amount Penalty Fine
Less than 28 Class A Misdemeanor Up to $4k
More than 28 and less than 200 Third Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 200 and less than 400 Second Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 400 First Degree Felony Up to $100k

Penalty Group 4 (measured in grams) 

Amount Penalty Fine
Less than 28 grams Class B Misdemeanor Up to $2k
More than 28 and less than 200 grams Third Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 200 and less than 400 grams Second Degree Felony Up to $10k
More than 400 grams First Degree Felony Up to $100k