A. Except as authorized in the Drug Control Act, Chapter 34 (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) of Title 54.1, it shall be unlawful for any person who is at least 18 years of age to knowingly or intentionally (i) distribute any drug classified in Schedule I, II, III or IV or marijuana to any person under 18 years of age who is at least three years his junior or (ii) cause any person under 18 years of age to assist in such distribution of any drug classified in Schedule I, II, III or IV or marijuana. Any person violating this provision shall upon conviction be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a period not less than 10 nor more than 50 years, and fined not more than $100,000. Five years of the sentence imposed for a conviction under this section involving a Schedule I or II controlled substance or one ounce or more of marijuana shall be a mandatory minimum sentence. Two years of the sentence imposed for a conviction under this section involving less than one ounce of marijuana shall be a mandatory minimum sentence.
B. It shall be unlawful for any person who is at least 18 years of age to knowingly or intentionally (i) distribute any imitation controlled substance to a person under 18 years of age who is at least three years his junior or (ii) cause any person under 18 years of age to assist in such distribution of any imitation controlled substance. Any person violating this provision shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Code 1950, § 54-524.103; 1970, c. 650; 1972, c. 798; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1976, c. 614; 1979, c. 435; 1982, c. 462; 1990, cc. 720, 864, 866; 1992, cc. 708, 724; 2000, cc. 1020, 1041; 2004, c. 461; 2011, cc. 384, 410; 2014, cc. 674, 719.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
21
cases (
2 in the last 5 years), 1989–2025 · leading case:
Kelso v. Com., 710 S.E.2d 470 (Va. 2011).
Kelso v. Com., 710 S.E.2d 470 (Va. 2011).
· cites it 20× “The crime at issue here is a violation of subsection (A)(ii) of Code § 18.2-255. That subsection makes it a crime for any person over the age of 18 to knowingly or intentionally cause a person under the age of 18 to assist in the distribution of marijuana.”
Kelso v. Commonwealth, 698 S.E.2d 263 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 22× “If the gravamen of the offense is causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana to another, then illegal conduct is not the distribution itself.”
Commonwealth v. Burns, 395 S.E.2d 456 (Va. 1990).
· cites it 2× “4 We would reach the same result even if we were to agree that Code § 18.2-255,2 creates the presumption Burns says it creates, viz.”
State v. Jonas, 792 P.2d 705 (Ariz. 1990).
· cites it 2× “13 § 11; Virginia, 50 years, Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-255 (A); West Virginia, with 2 priors, life, W.”
Larwan Badru Bonner v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 745 S.E.2d 162 (Va. Ct. App. 2013).
· cites it 2× “In Kelso , the charge was causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.2-255(A)(ii). As the Supreme Court noted, “one of the acts which must occur for conviction is distribution of the contraband by the juvenile to a third party.”
Gray v. Com., 645 S.E.2d 448 (Va. 2007).
· cites it 2× “Similarly, the enhanced penalty under Code § 18.2-255 for a defendant convicted of drug distribution to a child applies if a twenty-one year old distributes to a sixteen year old, but does not apply if an eighteen year old distributes the same drugs to the same sixteen year old.”
Pannell v. Commonwealth, 384 S.E.2d 344 (Va. Ct. App. 1989).
· cites it 4× “Prince Allen Pannell appeals his jury conviction for distribution of cocaine to a minor, at least three years his junior, in violation of Code § 18.2-255. Pannell was sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary and a $5,000 fine.”
Carlton Lee Wiley v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 10× “Carlton Lee Wiley (appellant) was convicted following a bench trial of two counts of distribution of a Schedule I, II, III, or IV drug to a person under the age of 18, in violation of Code § 18.2-255, and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, in violation of…”
Daniel Lee Bowman v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 2023).
· cites it 4× “Bowman was convicted of eight counts of distributing a Schedule II controlled substance to a minor, in violation of Code § 18.2-255. That statute provides that “[a]ny person violating this provision shall upon conviction be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a…”
Tyrone Edward Eley v. Commonwealth (Va. Ct. App. 2004).
· cites it 6× “Tyrone Edward Eley appeals his conviction under Code § 18.2-255 for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute to a minor.”
Commonwealth v. Napier, 93 Va. Cir. 446 (Buchanan Cir. Ct. 2016).
· cites it 3× “For example, the distribution of marijuana to a juvenile in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-255(A)(i) is a discrete act which, when completed, constitutes the commission of the crime.”
Matthew James Morris v. Commonwealth of Virginia (Va. Ct. App. 1999).
· cites it 7× “Matthew James Morris, appellant, was convicted by a jury of distributing Rohypnol, a Schedule IV substance, to a minor in violation of Code § 18.2-255. 1 On appeal, appellant contends he did not "distribute" Rohypnol within the meaning of Code § 18.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-255(A) — 3 cases
Kelso v. Com., 710 S.E.2d 470 (Va. 2011).
“The crime at issue here is a violation of subsection (A)(ii) of Code § 18.2-255. That subsection makes it a crime for any person over the age of 18 to knowingly or intentionally cause a person under the age of 18 to assist in the distribution of marijuana.”
Kelso v. Commonwealth, 698 S.E.2d 263 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
“If the gravamen of the offense is causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana to another, then illegal conduct is not the distribution itself.”
State v. Jonas, 792 P.2d 705 (Ariz. 1990).
“13 § 11; Virginia, 50 years, Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-255 (A); West Virginia, with 2 priors, life, W.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-255(A)(i) — 4 cases
Kelso v. Com., 710 S.E.2d 470 (Va. 2011).
“The crime at issue here is a violation of subsection (A)(ii) of Code § 18.2-255. That subsection makes it a crime for any person over the age of 18 to knowingly or intentionally cause a person under the age of 18 to assist in the distribution of marijuana.”
Commonwealth v. Napier, 93 Va. Cir. 446 (Buchanan Cir. Ct. 2016).
“For example, the distribution of marijuana to a juvenile in violation of Va. Code § 18.2-255(A)(i) is a discrete act which, when completed, constitutes the commission of the crime.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-255(A)(ii) — 3 cases
Kelso v. Com., 710 S.E.2d 470 (Va. 2011).
“The crime at issue here is a violation of subsection (A)(ii) of Code § 18.2-255. That subsection makes it a crime for any person over the age of 18 to knowingly or intentionally cause a person under the age of 18 to assist in the distribution of marijuana.”
Kelso v. Commonwealth, 698 S.E.2d 263 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
“If the gravamen of the offense is causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana to another, then illegal conduct is not the distribution itself.”
Larwan Badru Bonner v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 745 S.E.2d 162 (Va. Ct. App. 2013).
“In Kelso , the charge was causing a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.2-255(A)(ii). As the Supreme Court noted, “one of the acts which must occur for conviction is distribution of the contraband by the juvenile to a third party.”
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