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Read. Follow. Verify.Texas HB 1790 alters criminal penalties and defense rules for drug possession and paraphernalia
Last action · March 14, 2025: Referred to Public HealthSponsor: John Bucy
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What This Bill Proposed
Texas House Bill 1790 removes prior conviction restrictions and time limits on emergency medical assistance defenses for certain drug offenses, alters marihuana possession penalty thresholds, and repeals penalties specifically related to the possession of starting September 1, 2025.
The measure changes how individuals facing drug possession or paraphernalia charges can access legal defenses during medical emergencies and restructures the severity of criminal penalties based on the amount of marihuana possessed.
- Emergency medical assistance defenses in drug possession laws are commonly known as 'Good Samaritan' laws, designed to encourage individuals to seek medical help during drug overdoses without fear of immediate arrest for possession. context
- Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 481 governs controlled substances, detailing offenses, penalties, and specific legal defenses across multiple penalty groups. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Individuals charged with drug possession
The bill removes prior conviction and time-restriction bars on accessing emergency medical assistance defenses during prosecution.
Individuals possessing drug paraphernalia
The bill repeals specific statutory provisions penalizing the possession of drug paraphernalia.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What changes regarding emergency medical assistance defenses?
Does the bill affect drug paraphernalia laws?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Mar 14, 2025HouseCommitteeReferred to Public Health
- Mar 14, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time
- Jan 8, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Removal of Emergency Medical Defense Restrictions
The bill systematically removes multiple statutory barriers—such as prior convictions, prior acquittals, and an 18-month limitation—that previously disqualified individuals from using emergency medical assistance as a defense against drug charges.
Connected Entities
Sources
capitol.texas.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 75)
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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