New Texas Bill Could Make Consequences Severe For Dealing Drugs Online

There is one thing that everyone in Texas can agree on: we don’t need people dealing drugs in the Lone Star State. We are fortunate to have some fantastic law enforcement officers working hard daily to keep drugs off the streets, but we know there are still people dealing and using drugs here in Texas.

But according to KVUE, there is a new bill that has gotten approval from the Texas House that would toughen penalties on drug dealers through social media.

READ MORE: Woman Caught Smuggling Drugs with Daughter at Texas Border

READ MORE: East Texas Man Gets Life for Selling Meth and Marijuana

This Bill Comes After Four Teens Died

Lawmakers filed this bill after 14 teens near Dallas overdosed on counterfeit pills that contained fentanyl. Four of those teens died.

Get our free mobile app

Police Believe Cartels Were Involved

This overdose tragedy took place in 2023, but law enforcement believes the cartels were involved. There is information regarding a cartel ring that was targeting students through online platforms. Those platforms included Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and X.

How Would the Penalties Change for Drug Dealers?

Senate Bill 1833 would raise the penalty to the next highest category when any drug dealer is caught using social media to distribute drugs. First-degree felonies would add another five years to prison sentences and double any cash fines handed down during sentencing.

If this bill is passed into law, the change would take effect on September 1, 2025. The law would also reclassify accidental overdoses, including synthetic opioids, as poisoning. Dealing drugs is bad enough, but using social media to push illegal drugs is even worse.