Title 18, Title 18: Health

§ 4215. Authorized sales by pharmacists (a) A duly licensed pharmacist, in good faith and in the course of professional practice, may sell and dispense regulated drugs to any person upon a written prescription or oral prescription that is reduced promptly to writing by the pharma…

§ 4215a. Sale of Schedule V drugs (a) A duly licensed pharmacist may sell and dispense Schedule V drugs only upon written prescription or oral prescription that is promptly reduced to writing by a pharmacist, of a licensed physician, dentist, or veterinarian, dated and signed by …

§ 4215b. Identification Only a patient for whom a prescription was written, the owner of an animal for which a prescription was written, or a bona fide representative of the patient or animal owner, as defined by the Board of Pharmacy by rule after consultation with the Commissio…

§ 4216. Authorized possession by individuals (a) A person to whom or for whose use any regulated drug has been prescribed, sold, or dispensed, and the owner of any animal for which any such drug has been prescribed, sold, or dispensed, may lawfully possess the same on the conditi…

§ 4217. Reports by physicians and hospitals It shall be the duty of every physician and every hospital to report to the Commissioner of Health, promptly, all cases wherein a person has been or is being treated for the use of, or for problems arising from the use of, regulated dru…

§ 4218. Enforcement (a) It is hereby made the duty of the Department of Public Safety, its officers, agents, inspectors, and representatives, and pursuant to its specific authorization any other peace officer within the State, and of all State’s Attorneys, to enforce all provisio…

§ 4220. Violations; proceedings (a) In any complaint, information, or indictment, and in any action or proceeding brought for the enforcement of any provision of this chapter, it shall not be necessary to negate any exception, excuse, proviso, or exemption contained in this chapt…

§ 4221. Violations; presumptions (a) Possession of a false or forged prescription for a regulated drug by any person other than a pharmacist in the pursuance of his or her profession shall be presumptive evidence of his or her intent to use the same for the purpose of illegally o…

§ 4222. Common nuisances Any store, shop, warehouse, dwelling house, building, vehicle, boat, aircraft, or any place whatever, that is resorted to by persons for the purpose of using regulated drugs or that is used for the illegal keeping or selling of the same, shall be deemed a…

§ 4223. Fraud or deceit (a) No person shall obtain or attempt to obtain a regulated drug, or procure or attempt to procure the administration of a regulated drug: (1) by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation, or subterfuge; (2) by the forgery or alteration of a prescription or of any …

§ 4224. Unused Prescription Drug, Needle, and Syringe Disposal Program (a) The Department of Health shall establish and maintain the statewide Unused Prescription Drug, Needle, and Syringe Disposal Program to provide for the safe disposal of Vermont residents’ unused and unwanted…

§ 4226. Minors; treatment; consent (a)(1) If a minor 12 years of age or older is suspected to be dependent upon regulated drugs as defined in section 4201 of this title, to have venereal disease, or to be an alcoholic as defined in section 8401 of this title, and the finding of s…

§ 4228. Unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensing, or sale of a noncontrolled drug or substance (a) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly dispense, manufacture, process, package, distribute, or sell or attempt to dispense, manufacture, process, package, distribute, or s…

§ 4229. Maintenance of records Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 4202, 4210, 4213, and 4215 of this title relating to the maintenance of records, all rules adopted by the Department of Health and the Board of Pharmacy governing the records for the manufacturing, distribu…

§ 4230. Cannabis (a) Possession and cultivation. (1) No person shall knowingly and unlawfully possess more than one ounce of cannabis or more than five grams of hashish or cultivate more than two mature cannabis plants or four immature cannabis plants. A person who violates this …

§ 4230a. Cannabis possession by a person 21 years of age or older (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person 21 years of age or older who possesses one ounce or less of cannabis or five grams or less of hashish and two mature cannabis plants or fewer or four im…

§ 4230e. Cultivation of cannabis by a person 21 years of age or older (a)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person 21 years of age or older who cultivates not more than two mature cannabis plants and four immature cannabis plants shall not be penalized or sanctio…

§ 4230f. Dispensing cannabis to a person under 21 years of age; criminal offense (a) No person shall: (1) dispense cannabis to a person under 21 years of age; or (2) knowingly enable the consumption of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age. (b) As used in this section, “enab…

§ 4230g. Dispensing cannabis to a person under 21 years of age; civil action for damages (a) A spouse, child, guardian, employer, or other person who is injured in person, property, or means of support by a person under 21 years of age who is impaired by cannabis, or in consequen…

§ 4230h. Chemical extraction via butane or hexane prohibited (a) No person shall manufacture concentrated cannabis by chemical extraction or chemical synthesis using butane or hexane. (b) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section shall be imprisoned not more than two y…

§ 4230i. Exceptions (a) A person who is convicted of a felony for selling cannabis in violation of section 4230 of this title or selling a regulated drug to minors or on school grounds in violation of section 4237 of this title for an offense that occurred on or after July 1, 201…

§ 4231. Cocaine (a) Possession. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing cocaine shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing cocaine in an amount consisting of 2.5 grams or more of …

§ 4232. LSD (a) Possession. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing lysergic acid diethylamide shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing lysergic acid diethylamide in an amount c…

§ 4233. Heroin (a) Possession. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing heroin shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing heroin in an amount consisting of 200 milligrams or more o…

§ 4233a. Fentanyl (a) Selling or dispensing. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully dispensing fentanyl shall be imprisoned not more than three years or fined not more than $75,000.00, or both. A person knowingly and unlawfully selling fentanyl shall be imprisoned not more than fi…

§ 4233b. Xylazine (a) No person shall dispense or sell xylazine except as provided in subsection (b) of this section. (b) The following are permitted activities related to xylazine: (1) dispensing or prescribing for, or administration to, a nonhuman species a drug containing xyla…

§ 4234. Depressant, stimulant, and narcotic drugs (a) Possession. (1)(A) Except as provided by subdivision (B) of this subdivision (1), a person knowingly and unlawfully possessing a depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug, other than heroin or cocaine, shall be imprisoned not mo…

§ 4234a. Methamphetamine (a) Possession. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing methamphetamine in an amount consisting…

§ 4234b. Ephedrine and pseudoephedrine (a) Possession. (1) No person shall knowingly and unlawfully possess a drug product containing ephedrine base, pseudoephedrine base, or phenylpropanolamine base with the intent to use the product as a precursor to manufacture methamphetamine…

§ 4235. Hallucinogenic drugs (a) “Dose” of a hallucinogenic drug means that minimum amount of a hallucinogenic drug, not commonly used for therapeutic purposes, that causes a substantial hallucinogenic effect. The Department of Health shall adopt rules that establish doses for ha…

§ 4235a. Ecstasy (a) Possession. (1) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing Ecstasy shall be imprisoned not more than one year or fined not more than $2,000.00, or both. (2) A person knowingly and unlawfully possessing Ecstasy in an amount consisting of two grams or more of…

§ 4236. Manufacture or cultivation (a) A person knowingly and unlawfully manufacturing or cultivating a regulated drug shall be imprisoned not more than 20 years or fined not more than $1,000,000.00, or both. (b) This section shall not apply to the cultivation of cannabis. (Added…

§ 4237. Selling or dispensing to minors; selling on school grounds (a) Dispensing regulated drugs to minors. A person knowingly and unlawfully dispensing any regulated drug to a minor who is at least three years that person’s junior shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of…

§ 4238. Second and subsequent offenses A person convicted of a second or subsequent offense of violating section 4228, 4230, 4231, 4232, 4233, 4234, 4235, 4236 or 4237 of this title, except a violation of subdivision 4230(a)(1), shall be subject to a term of imprisonment or fined…

§ 4239. Collection of fines Fines imposed for violation of this chapter shall be considered as a judgment and may be collected and executed upon by the State, through the State’s Attorney’s office or the Attorney General’s office, according to the Rules of Civil Procedure. The St…

§ 4240. Prevention and treatment of opioid-related overdoses [Renumbered] (Added 2013, No. 75, § 17; amended 2015, No. 38, § 25, eff. May 28, 2015; 2023, No. 22, § 4, eff. May 25, 2023; renumbered to 18 V.S.A. § 4257 by 2023, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 17, 2024.)

§ 4240a. Overdose prevention; drug-checking for contaminant detection [Renumbered] (Added 2023, No. 22, § 12, eff. May 25, 2023; renumbered to 18 V.S.A. § 4258 by 2023, No. 178 (Adj. Sess.), § 8, eff. June 17, 2024.)

§ 4241. Scope (a) The following property shall be subject to this subchapter: (1) All regulated drugs that have been cultivated, manufactured, distributed, compounded, possessed, sold, prescribed, dispensed, or delivered in violation of subchapter 1 of this chapter. (2) All raw m…

§ 4242. Seizure (a) The court may issue at the request of the State ex parte a preliminary order or process to seize or secure property for which forfeiture is sought and to provide for its custody. Process for seizure of such property shall issue only upon a showing of probable …

§ 4243. Judicial forfeiture procedure (a) Conviction or agreement required. An asset is subject to forfeiture by judicial determination under section 4241 of this title and 13 V.S.A. § 364 if: (1) a person is convicted of the criminal offense related to the action for forfeiture;…

§ 4244. Forfeiture hearing (a) Within 60 days following service of notice of seizure and forfeiture under section 4243 of this title, a claimant may file a demand for judicial determination of the forfeiture. The demand must be in the form of a civil complaint accompanied by a sw…

§ 4245. Remission or mitigation of forfeiture (a) On petition filed within 90 days after completion of a forfeiture proceeding, a court that issued a forfeiture order pursuant to section 4244 of this title may order that the forfeiture be remitted or mitigated. The petition shall…

§ 4246. Maintenance Law enforcement agencies seizing property under this subchapter shall ensure that the property is properly maintained. Equipment and conveyances seized shall be removed to an appropriate place for storage. Any monies, negotiable instruments, or securities seiz…

§ 4247. Disposition of property (a) Whenever property is forfeited and delivered to the State Treasurer under this subchapter, the State Treasurer shall, not sooner than 90 days after the date the property is delivered, sell the property at a public sale held under 27 V.S.A. chap…

§ 4248. Records (a) Law enforcement departments and agencies, and other State departments and agencies that have custody of any property subject to forfeiture under this subchapter, or that dispose of such property, shall keep and maintain full and complete records including the …

§ 4249. Transportation of alcohol, tobacco, or regulated drugs into places of detention (a) No person shall knowingly carry or introduce or cause to be carried or introduced into a lockup, jail, prison, or correctional facility: (1) alcohol or alcoholic beverages; (2) cannabis; (…