2023 Texas Statutes
Health and Safety Code
Title 6 - Food, Drugs, Alcohol, and Hazardous Substances
Subtitle C - Substance Abuse Regulation and Crimes
Chapter 485 - Abusable Volatile Chemicals
Subchapter C. Criminal Penalties
Section 485.031. Possession and Use
Sec. 485.031. POSSESSION AND USE. (a) A person commits an offense if the person inhales, ingests, applies, uses, or possesses an abusable volatile chemical with intent to inhale, ingest, apply, or use the chemical in a manner:
(1) contrary to directions for use, cautions, or warnings appearing on a label of a container of the chemical; and
(2) designed to:
(A) affect the person's central nervous system;
(B) create or induce a condition of intoxication, hallucination, or elation; or
(C) change, distort, or disturb the person's eyesight, thinking process, balance, or coordination.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
(c) It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection (a) that the actor:
(1) was the first person to request emergency medical assistance in response to the possible overdose of another person and:
(A) made the request for medical assistance during an ongoing medical emergency;
(B) remained on the scene until the medical assistance arrived; and
(C) cooperated with medical assistance and law enforcement personnel; or
(2) was the victim of a possible overdose for which emergency medical assistance was requested, by the actor or by another person, during an ongoing medical emergency.
(d) The defense to prosecution provided by Subsection (c) is not available if:
(1) at the time the request for emergency medical assistance was made:
(A) a peace officer was in the process of arresting the actor or executing a search warrant describing the actor or the place from which the request for medical assistance was made; or
(B) the actor is committing another offense, other than an offense punishable under Section 481.115(b), 481.1151(b)(1), 481.116(b), 481.1161(b)(1) or (2), 481.117(b), 481.118(b), or 481.121(b)(1) or (2), or an offense under Section 481.119(b), 481.125(a), or 483.041(a);
(2) the actor has been previously convicted of or placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for an offense under this chapter or Chapter 481 or 483;
(3) the actor was acquitted in a previous proceeding in which the actor successfully established the defense under that subsection or Section 481.115(g), 481.1151(c), 481.116(f), 481.1161(c), 481.117(f), 481.118(f), 481.119(c), 481.121(c), 481.125(g), or 483.041(e); or
(4) at any time during the 18-month period preceding the date of the commission of the instant offense, the actor requested emergency medical assistance in response to the possible overdose of the actor or another person.
(e) The defense to prosecution provided by Subsection (c) does not preclude the admission of evidence obtained by law enforcement resulting from the request for emergency medical assistance if that evidence pertains to an offense for which the defense described by Subsection (c) is not available.
Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1463, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by:
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 808 (H.B. 1694), Sec. 12, eff. September 1, 2021.
