G.D. Hancock, Ph.D.
Texas has two laws on supplying drugs that cause a death.
Added in 2023 (HB 6). Knowingly manufacturing or delivering a Penalty Group 1-B substance (fentanyl and its analogs) when a person dies from taking any amount of it, alone or mixed with other substances.
For many drug manufacture and delivery offenses, if a person died or was seriously injured from using the drug, the punishment is raised one degree and must run consecutively. It does not apply if the defendant is also prosecuted for murder under § 19.02(b)(4) for the same episode.
A defense, not immunity: a person charged with possession may raise it if they were the first to call for emergency help for someone's overdose, stayed and cooperated, or were the person who overdosed. It is not available to anyone with a prior drug conviction or deferred adjudication, anyone who has used the defense before, or anyone who called for overdose help in the 18 months before. It does not cover delivery.
Statute: Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.115(g)-(h) and parallel sections
Does calling for help protect against the drug-death charge? No.
The Good Samaritan law does not list the drug-death offense, so it does not protect against that charge.
Whatever the law says, if someone is overdosing, call 911. A life comes first. More on calling 911.
Federal law applies in every state. When death or serious bodily injury results from using a Schedule I or II drug that a person distributed, federal law sets a mandatory minimum of 20 years and a maximum of life. Federal prosecutors can bring this charge whatever the state law says. (21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)-(C))
22 cases in the published sample of the drug-induced homicide case database were prosecuted in Texas. The database is still being built; the complete version will be published when it is finished.
This page describes what the statutes say, as of 7 October 2026. It is not legal advice, and it can’t tell you how a court will apply the law to any particular case. Laws change; check the statute, and please speak to a lawyer in Texas about your own situation.