At some point he was “completely dazed in the head” due to regular cannabis consumption, says Kristian L., “severe cognitive problems” and constant headaches. The 29th Criminal Chamber at the Munich I District Court has to decide whether it is due to “complete stupidity” that the 21-year-old is said to have dealt with kilos of hashish and marijuana.
The door opens and a young man is led into the courtroom, who looks like a senior: white shirt, glasses – and a black bow tie on his collar. Kristian L. seems nervous, although he should be familiar with the procedure in court.
The public prosecutor accuses the unemployed Munich resident of dealing in drugs on a large scale. During a search of his apartment in Maxvorstadt in November 2022, the police seized a good five kilos of hashish and marijuana. Shortly before, he had sold half a kilo to another dealer for 4,700 euros. L. had deposited the drugs in shopping bags, two kilos were lying on the living room table. In the immediate vicinity, the police found a one-handed knife, an airsoft pistol and an air pressure rifle – which brought the Munich man a charge of armed trafficking, among other things.
When the police knocked on his door, Kristian L. pushed against it with all his might. He panicked, he says. Or, says the judge, maybe he wanted to buy time so that his roommate could make drugs disappear? “Yes,” admits the 21-year-old. In general, “the whole accusation is completely correct”.
So it’s also true that the police had to knock out the door hinges and lift the door off its hinges to get into the apartment. And that Kristian L. tried to push the policeman down the stairs in the first row. When he stumbled, the officer was able to hold on to Kristian L. so as not to fall. L. also defended himself against the bondage with hands and feet. The public prosecutor sees this as a physical attack on law enforcement officers, resistance and attempted bodily harm.
When Kristian L. talks, he easily starts chatting about his life. He has “constantly made mistakes” since his youth, but his parents would still stand by him, he says, looking into the auditorium. He was expelled from school en masse, and even after the qualification his life remained full of breaks: he worked as a garbage man, food delivery, he threw down the FOS, his apprenticeship as a cook was terminated from him.
It may be that his daily cannabis use had something to do with it. From the age of 14, he says, he consumed drugs, in the end up to five grams a day. He started his career as a dealer at the age of 17 to finance his addiction. The judge asks whether he has any hobbies. “No, I didn’t have the energy for that anymore.” And: “What consumption gives me is not real, it is destructive.”
The insight comes late, especially since Kristian L. has a relevant criminal record, with youth detention, participation in the abstinence program and counseling sessions, but he messed that up too. He has been in adult prison since November 2022, and a verdict is expected in mid-June.