James City County, VA Public Conduct: Public Marijuana Use (2026)

Section 16-2(b) sits immediately after the parks alcohol ban in chapter 16, Article II, and prohibits consuming, possessing or being under the influence of any controlled substance, as defined by the Code of Virginia, while in a public park or recreation facility. That cross-reference pulls in the Commonwealth's schedule of controlled substances, which covers marijuana along with other regulated drugs; the county ordinance does not carve out marijuana specifically, and it does not include the director's rule-making exception that subsection (a) allows for alcohol. That means there is no posted-rules pathway around this ban the way there can be for alcohol at a sanctioned park event.

The prohibition reaches every public park and recreation facility as defined in section 16-1: buildings, lands, waters, roadways, recreation equipment and structures the county owns, leases or operates and opens to the public. James City County Police Department officers who observe possession, use or evident impairment on park property can charge under this local ordinance, in addition to any state drug charge that could separately apply to the same conduct. Section 16-24 supplies the penalty framework for the whole chapter, and enforcement can include physical ejection from the park in addition to prosecution.