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Code of Virginia · § 18.2-388 — Intoxication in public; penalty; transportation of public inebriates to detoxification center

18.2-388. Intoxication in public; penalty; transportation of public inebriates to detoxification center

If any person is intoxicated in public, whether such intoxication results from alcohol, narcotic drug, or other intoxicant or drug of whatever nature, he is guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. In any area in which there is located a court-approved detoxification center, a law-enforcement officer may authorize the transportation, by police or otherwise, of public inebriates to such detoxification center in lieu of arrest; however, no person shall be involuntarily detained in such center.

History and annotations

Code 1950, § 18.1-237; 1960, c. 358; 1964, c. 434; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1979, c. 654; 1982, c. 666; 1983, c. 187; 1990, c. 965; 2020, c. 160.

Official source for this version

Source captured 2026-09-25. Open the official source.

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