Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Re: littering is it a serious crime?

Casual littering(as opposed to dumping) is not normally a crime and would likely be classified as a kind of civil infraction subject to a small fine.

Misdemeanor larceny, however, is certainly a crime

and will likely remain part of your friend's record for many years to come, with possible adverse consequences for his employment propspects, credit worthiness determinations, insurability,----and who knows what else?

And with these doleful possibilities already on his plate, so to speak, any further accumulation of convictions whether it be for drugs or something else, would only serve to exacerbate matters.