In the case Texas v. Molina, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals defined the term "possession" as: "A person acts intentionally, or with intent, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to a result of his conduct when it is his conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result." "A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to circumstances surrounding his conduct when he is aware of the nature of his conduct or that the circumstances exist. A person acts knowingly, or with knowledge, with respect to a result of his conduct when he is aware that his conduct is reasonably certain to cause the result."Knowledge is a lower degree of culpable mental state than intent.
Therefore the minimum requirement for conviction of possessing an illegal drug would be proof that the person voluntarily and knowingly engaged in the conduct of possessing the drug; that is, that the person voluntarily exercised actual care, custody or control of the drug when he was aware of the nature of his conduct or that those circumstances that surrounded his conduct existed.
In short, a defendant must exercise actual care, custody and control. The definition of possession is unique for drug cases. The Texas penal code has a separate definition of the term "possession" in the context of possession of a firearm. If you have been charged with possession of a controlled substance or possession of a firearm, you should speak with an experienced attorney before going to Court.