The Vermont Statutes Online
The Vermont Statutes Online have been updated to include the actions of the 2023 session of the General Assembly.
NOTE: The Vermont Statutes Online is an unofficial copy of the Vermont Statutes Annotated that is provided as a convenience.
Title 18 : Health
Chapter 084 : Possession and Control of Regulated Drugs
Subchapter 001 : Regulated Drugs
(Cite as: 18 V.S.A. § 4230g)-
§ 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 consequence of the impairment by cannabis of any person under 21 years of age, shall have a right of action in his or her own name, jointly or severally, against any person or persons who have caused in whole or in part such impairment by knowingly dispensing cannabis to a person under 21 years of age or enabling the consumption of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age.
(b) Upon the death of either party, the action and right of action shall survive to or against the party’s executor or administrator. The party injured or his or her legal representatives may bring either a joint action against the impaired person under 21 years of age and the person or persons who knowingly dispensed the cannabis or enabled the consumption of the cannabis, or a separate action against either or any of them.
(c) An action to recover for damages under this section shall be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrues, and not after.
(d) In an action brought under this section, evidence of responsible actions taken or not taken is admissible if otherwise relevant.
(e) A defendant in an action brought under this section has a right of contribution from any other responsible person or persons, which may be enforced in a separate action brought for that purpose.
(f) A person who knowingly dispenses cannabis to a person under 21 years of age or who enables consumption of cannabis by a person under 21 years of age may be held liable under this section if the person knew, or a reasonable person in the same circumstances would have known, that the person who received the cannabis was under 21 years of age. (Added 2017, No. 86 (Adj. Sess.), § 9.)
