A. A parent or legal custodian may bring an action for damages incurred because of his child's unlawful use of a controlled substance while under the age of eighteen against a natural person age eighteen years or older who sold, administered, furnished or knowingly participated in the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance to the child.
§ 8.01-227.5.Persons who may bring action; persons against whom actions may be brought; damages recoverable.
Chapter 3. Actions · Article 23. Drug Dealer Liability Act · Last amended 2002 · Last verified July 16, 2026
In one sentenceSection 8.01-227.5 lets a parent or legal custodian sue an adult who sold, administered, furnished, or knowingly took part in illegally distributing a controlled substance to their child, and caps recovery at pain and suffering, treatment costs, and medical expenses tied to the child’s drug use.
Full Text of § 8.01-227.5
B. A parent or legal custodian entitled to bring an action under this article may recover damages limited to physical and emotional pain and suffering, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation and medical expenses, proximately caused to the parent or legal custodian by the child's unlawful use of a controlled substance.
Plain-English Summary
Subsection A gives a parent or legal custodian standing to sue over their own child’s unlawful use of a controlled substance while the child was under eighteen. The defendant must be a natural person, eighteen or older, who sold, administered, furnished, or knowingly took part in unlawfully distributing the drug to the child. That is a narrow target: Article 23 does not reach every dealer operating in a community, only the specific adult tied to a specific child’s drug use.
Subsection B limits what the parent can collect. Recoverable damages are confined to physical and emotional pain and suffering, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, and medical expenses — and only those proximately caused by the child’s unlawful drug use. The statute compensates the parent or custodian for the fallout of the child’s addiction, not for a broader set of harms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can bring a lawsuit under Virginia’s Drug Dealer Liability Act?
A parent or legal custodian, for damages arising from their own child’s unlawful use of a controlled substance while the child was under eighteen.
Who can be sued under § 8.01-227.5?
A natural person eighteen or older who sold, administered, furnished, or knowingly took part in the unlawful distribution of a controlled substance to the child — not a corporation or other entity acting on its own.
What damages can a parent recover in this kind of lawsuit?
Physical and emotional pain and suffering, the cost of treatment and rehabilitation, and medical expenses, but only to the extent these were proximately caused by the child’s unlawful use of a controlled substance.
Can a parent sue over drug distribution to someone else’s child?
No. Standing under § 8.01-227.5 runs to a parent or legal custodian suing over their own child’s unlawful use, not a child generally.
Does the defendant have to be the one who directly sold the drug to the child?
Not necessarily. Liability reaches anyone eighteen or older who sold, administered, or furnished the substance, or who knowingly participated in its unlawful distribution to the child.
Amendment History
2002, c. 863.
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Code of Virginia, published by the
Code of Virginia, Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Last verified July 16, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: who can sue under virginia drug dealer liability actvirginia parent sue drug dealer lawsuitdamages recoverable drug dealer liability act virginia8.01-227.5 explainedsuing an adult who sold drugs to my child virginia