Damian Merrick v. State, 07-17-00386-CR

Merrick was indicted on two counts for intentionally delivering a controlled substance, alleged to be psilocybin mushrooms, to two minors (E. and C.).
E. and C. testified Merrick obtained mushrooms for a trip, weighed them with purchased scales, placed them on tacos, and the girls ate them.
Both girls reported experiencing hallucinations and other psychedelic effects after ingestion.
A photo of a taco with mushrooms was admitted; a narcotics officer testified the pictured items were consistent with psilocybin mushrooms, that such mushrooms are commonly eaten with food, and that the girls’ reported effects matched psilocybin’s effects.
Merrick argued the State’s evidence was insufficient because no chemical testing confirmed the substance was psilocybin mushrooms.
The court affirmed, holding lay and officer testimony provided some evidence from which a rational factfinder could conclude the substance was psilocybin mushrooms beyond a reasonable doubt.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence that the substance was psilocybin mushrooms	State: testimony and photo plus officer’s expert-observer testimony suffice to prove identity	Merrick: absence of chemical testing makes identification insufficient	Affirmed — testimony/photo/officer testimony provided some evidence for a rational factfinder to find identity beyond a reasonable doubt

Johnson v. State, 560 S.W.3d 224 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (standard of review for sufficiency of the evidence)
Roberts v. State, 9 S.W.3d 460 (Tex. App.—Austin 1999) (lay and witness testimony about substance identity can be some evidence even without chemical analysis)