Virginia Youth Group Urges Lawmakers to End Marijuana Criminal Penalties for Minors and Dedicate 30% of Retail Tax Revenue to Behavioral Health

Virginia lawmakers were urged today to remove criminal penalties for youth marijuana conduct, exempt minors from a coming $250 public-use fine and dedicate 30% of future retail marijuana tax revenue to youth behavioral health services.

The recommendations were presented by RISE for Youth Executive Director Valerie Slater during a meeting of the Joint Commission to Oversee the Transition of the Commonwealth into a Retail Cannabis Market, as Virginia prepares for its regulated adult-use marijuana market to launch in 2027. The commission’s official agenda listed Slater’s presentation as examining the “Potential Impacts of Increased Public Consumption Penalty.”

RISE for Youth presented lawmakers with four specific requests, according to a detailed policy briefing released alongside the meeting.

First, the organization is asking lawmakers to designate 30% of all tax revenue generated by Virginia’s adult-use retail marijuana market to the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS). The funding would be continuing, protected from being replaced by reductions elsewhere in the budget and used specifically for youth affected by marijuana use in their families, schools or communities.

The group said the money should fund free community-based education, early intervention, treatment, recovery services, transportation and family assistance, while prohibiting its use for arrests, prosecution, detention, surveillance or school exclusion.

Virginia’s new marijuana law establishes a 6% state marijuana sales tax before July 1, 2029, increasing to 8% after that date, on top of applicable sales taxes. Local governments will also levy an additional marijuana tax of between 1% and 3.5%.

The second recommendation calls for the state to adopt Stanford Medicine REACH Lab’s K-12 cannabis education curriculum as a statewide instructional foundation. RISE for Youth proposed having the Cannabis Control Authority, Department of Education, DBHDS and Department of Health implement and maintain the curriculum, accompanied by safe-storage education for adults.

The organization’s two remaining requests focus directly on penalties for people under 18.

RISE for Youth wants Virginia law amended so marijuana possession or consumption by a minor does not result in a delinquency designation or adjudication solely because marijuana is involved. It also wants minors explicitly excluded from a new $250 civil penalty for first- and second-offense public marijuana consumption scheduled to take effect July 1, 2027.

Under the new framework, Virginia Code § 4.1-1108 increases the maximum penalty for a first public-consumption offense from $25 to $250. A second offense carries another civil penalty of up to $250 along with required substance-use education or treatment, while a third or subsequent offense can result in a Class 4 misdemeanor. The change represents a $225 increase for the first two offenses.

RISE for Youth’s fourth request goes further, calling for the elimination of misdemeanor and other criminal penalties for youth possession or consumption of marijuana in amounts equal to or below the legal adult possession limit, regardless of whether the conduct occurs on school grounds or elsewhere.

That would include eliminating the Class 2 misdemeanor currently applicable to certain marijuana possession or consumption on public school grounds and excluding minors from the Class 4 misdemeanor that can follow repeated public-consumption violations.

The organization pointed to state data showing a major change in how youth marijuana cases enter Virginia’s juvenile justice system.

According to the Virginia Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), marijuana-related juvenile complaints declined 30% between fiscal years 2019 and 2024, reaching 1,904. However, the share originating from schools increased from 17% to 54%, while the share coming from law enforcement fell from 83% to 44%. The percentage of cases involving girls increased from 25% to 30%, while youth ages 16 and 17 declined from 68% of cases to 48%, reflecting a larger proportion involving younger adolescents.

RISE for Youth also raised racial disparities in enforcement, telling lawmakers that Black Virginians account for 47.7% of public-use citations despite representing about 19% of the state population. The organization additionally cited DJJ figures showing Black youth accounted for 44.2% of juvenile intake cases in fiscal year 2025, with their share increasing at deeper stages of the juvenile justice system, including 53.4% of detention admissions and 70.9% of direct-care placements.

The group argued that the state should respond to youth marijuana use primarily through health, education, family and community services rather than escalating fines and criminal penalties.

Virginia legalized adult possession and home cultivation of marijuana in 2021 but went several years without establishing a regulated recreational sales system. Legislation enacted this year created the framework for a legal adult-use retail market, with numerous provisions scheduled to take effect July 1, 2027.