“Growing weed costs nothing — taking care of it is what gets expensive.”
Pat Howell
As our readers already know, our law firm quite often handles unusual cases entrusted to us by our clients. The plot of such cases, and how they unfold, is sometimes so intricate and unusual that it reads like a gripping detective story. However events play out, the reality of these situations, and the punishments our clients face, push us toward maximum commitment and dedication. This is especially true of cases where clients find themselves in absurd and threatening situations out of ignorance or foolishness. In this article, we tell our readers about one of the more notable cases from our extensive legal practice, in which we were effectively able to save someone from imprisonment that threatened him over a criminal offense he had committed out of foolishness and an absurd set of circumstances.
More specifically, this article is about soft drugs. Using hashish or marijuana is known in German slang as “Kiffen.” Using these two drugs is not a criminal offense in Germany, since under the Narcotics Act (German: Betäubungsmittelgesetz, BtMG), it does not constitute a criminal offense and carries no punishment. The permissible amount of marijuana varies by city — typically 15 g in Berlin, and 3–5 g in other cities. Medical marijuana was legalized in 2017 for people suffering from serious illnesses. The medical use of marijuana and cannabis-based preparations is permitted in the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, and a number of regions in Italy. In several other European countries, notably Portugal and Austria, rules decriminalizing cannabis are in place — its consumption in special cafés is permitted, and growing cannabis in small quantities is not prosecuted. However, it should be kept in mind that possessing, growing (with certain exceptions), producing, importing, exporting, distributing, selling, putting into circulation, or otherwise acquiring illegal narcotics is prohibited. Under this law, then, the use of narcotics in Germany is divided into legal and illegal use. §29 BtMG contains a list of sanctions for offenders. Depending on the severity of the violation, the penalty can be up to 5 years’ imprisonment or a fine.
As for the so-called circulation of narcotics, a certain issue arises: if a person “puts into circulation” drugs by giving them free of charge to a friend, or buying something from a dealer on a friend’s behalf, does this constitute a criminal offense? Courts do not answer this question uniformly, but such an act is unambiguously recognized as “putting into circulation” within the meaning of the law. As a result, such “friendly” favors can cause serious trouble for an ordinary user. In our case, our firm’s client was accused of the unlawful production and trafficking of narcotics, even though he had never once entertained such an idea — but let’s take it from the beginning.
Story One: 70 Pots of Cannabis and a Vanished Client
This story began several years ago. A young man appeared at our office door — let’s call him Yuri. Yuri was a Ukrainian national who permanently resided in his own house in Germany. At the time, he found himself in a difficult situation, having been accused of producing and distributing narcotics. By his own admission, he really had been growing cannabis at home in a specially built greenhouse. His plantation numbered around 70 pots — which, understandably, gave good reason to assume this wasn’t just for personal use. Having obtained the necessary authorization from Yuri, we immediately requested the case file from the police. But shortly after we had the case file in hand, Yuri suddenly “vanished.” He stopped answering phone calls and emails. Since we couldn’t locate him, we had no choice but to make the only correct decision available to us: to withdraw from representing him. We could not represent our client’s interests in his absence and without his instructions, even with a valid power of attorney authorizing us to act. In line with standard procedure, we reported our client’s disappearance to the police. His case was entered into the corresponding law enforcement database — meaning that if the accused ever reappeared on the radar of the German police, or that of another EU country, the criminal case against him would be reopened. Some time later, this story took an unexpected turn…
Story Two: The Housemate Who Watered the Plants
About a year after the first case, we were approached by, this time, a Latvian national — Denis (name changed) — who told us an “all too familiar” story. How could such a “coincidence” happen? It turned out to be no coincidence at all. Yuri and Denis had, some time before, worked together at a logistics company in Germany. The two men, working in the same department, had grown close, occasionally spending free time together and sharing life’s troubles. Yuri was renting a house not far from Berlin — the very house where the notorious plantation was kept. Denis had come to Germany alone to find work and get settled in a little; in two months he planned to return home and later move to Germany permanently with the family waiting for him back in Riga. Denis worked hard as a driver, searched for an apartment, and studied German in his spare time. Yuri, meanwhile, who lived life somewhat recklessly, lived alone in his rented house. At some point, feeling generous, he suggested his friend save money on rent and move in with him temporarily — there was, after all, “plenty of room to spare.” Denis knew about the “plantation” but didn’t attach much importance to it. Money was tight, and without giving it much thought, he accepted Yuri’s offer. Nor did Denis attach much significance to the fact that Yuri would occasionally ask his new housemate to water the plants while he was away. Where was the harm in that, one might ask?
It turned out, however, that this was anything but harmless from the standpoint of German law enforcement… Unfortunately, one day, a vigilant elderly neighbor noticed Denis watering the plants. For some time, he had already found the strange silence and lack of activity at the neighboring house — with its curtains permanently drawn — suspicious. That day, a strong wind was blowing through the town, the window of the house was left open, and when the curtain briefly parted, the neighbor spotted something odd inside. He called the police without delay, and officers, suspecting that something outside the bounds of the law was happening at the strange house, obtained a search warrant and discovered a marijuana plantation consisting of 73 pots. Both men living in the house were questioned, and the corresponding reports were drawn up.
Arrest Upon Returning From Latvia
As it turned out, Yuri, who was indeed the one genuinely at fault in the matter, sensed trouble brewing and hastily fled back home to Ukraine, leaving our firm’s lawyers in something of a bind. Denis, meanwhile, naively believing the whole affair was already over with no consequences for him, went to Riga some time later to help his family with their move. All this time, the investigation in Germany continued. Eventually, both Yuri and Denis were formally charged, and a warrant was issued for their arrest. Denis, while in Riga, had no idea just how serious the situation had become for him in Germany. It was only upon his return — after committing a minor traffic offense — that he was arrested and placed in pre-trial detention for a month. Fortunately, the public defender assigned to him managed to have the detention measure changed and secured Denis’s release on the condition that he not leave the country. This, however, did not resolve the underlying problem. Denis turned to our law firm for legal help, since he genuinely needed it urgently — the offense he was accused of carried a substantial fine or up to 5 years’ imprisonment.
The Lawyer’s Work: Requalifying the Charge as Aiding and Abetting
Our firm’s lawyer, who took on Denis’s case, began actively preparing for the trial hearing. He worked carefully with the client on a defense strategy, explained every procedural aspect, and outlined the details the judge would focus on during questioning. With our lawyer’s help, Denis recalled and presented at the trial hearing the circumstances under which he had been “taking care of” someone else’s plants. He explained in detail that he had only watered the young, barely sprouted plants, and that the amount of narcotic substances they contained, as well as his “friend’s” plans for using them, were entirely unclear to him. For this reason, this mistaken act, committed purely out of ignorance, could not be classified as an intentional crime.
Our goal was, first, to have the charge of producing narcotics requalified as aiding and abetting that production. Second, we needed to ensure that our client’s punishment, in this case, was limited to a fine, without a criminal record on his file. It should be noted that the public defender assigned to our client was also present at the hearing but left the active defense of the client to our firm’s lawyer. We presented compelling arguments and evidence that Denis had not himself produced any narcotics, had never intended to do so, and did not use cannabis himself. What’s more, we drew the court’s particular attention to the fact that, prior to this incident, the accused had always abided by the law and had no record of any significant prior offenses.
Outcome: A €1,700 Fine, No Criminal Record
Among other things, the court took into account that the defendant had already spent a month in pre-trial detention — that is, he had already served a sufficient punishment. To our client’s great relief, his punishment was limited to a preventive measure, namely an obligation to pay €1,700 to a charitable organization, with no criminal record entered against him. When our client realized he was “saved,” he felt as though a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
Conclusion
We are genuinely glad to have been able to see justice done in this case. We wish our readers to never find themselves in similar situations — but if such a misunderstanding does occur, we urge you not to waste a single minute before reaching out to professionals capable of finding a way out, even in the most complex and tangled case.
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