In Bavaria, 24 prisoners were released on April 1st. The state Ministry of Justice announced this. The reason for this is the amnesty regulation of the new cannabis law. This particularly benefits repeat offenders who have been caught several times with small amounts of cannabis. In total, 29,000 cases in Bavaria are being examined to determine whether the enforcement of a judgment needs to be stopped.
If that is the case, the corresponding entries could also disappear from the criminal records. Those affected have the right to request deletion from the Federal Central Register.
Furthermore, road traffic offenses will have to be renegotiated in the future. The value of one nanogram of the active ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) per milliliter of blood serum has been established in legal practice. However, the Federal Ministry of Transport has proposed a concentration of 3.5 nanograms as the new limit. Anyone who fears sanctions, such as a medical psychological examination, because they were caught driving with three nanograms of blood serum could also benefit from the amnesty regulation in the future. However, there is still no agreement on a new limit value.
Things can get complicated in the future with so-called reassessment procedures. They are negotiating whether a new sentence must be imposed according to the new rules of the Cannabis Act. In so-called mixed cases, in which not only crimes were prosecuted that are no longer punishable, but also crimes such as drug trafficking, courts may have to bring forward the release date of convicts, as the Ministry of Justice reports. Therefore, there could be further releases from prison in the future, explains a spokesman. A rapid completion of these “resentencing procedures” is necessary to avoid prisoners staying in prison longer than the new sentence requires.
Meanwhile, the police arrested a 19-year-old in the Altötting district on Wednesday as a suspected drug dealer, as the officers from the Upper Bavaria South Police Headquarters reported. There is an arrest warrant against him and he will now be brought before the investigating judge. The officers also searched several apartments and rooms in the area around the accused in a municipality in the district. Almost two kilos of marijuana, several thousand euros in cash, several weapons and extensive items related to drug trafficking were seized.
The investigation began in December 2023. At that time, according to information, a locked safe was discovered in a forest. In addition to two kilograms of marijuana and paraphernalia for drug trafficking, there was also a blank pistol. The investigators initiated proceedings on suspicion of armed cannabis trafficking. During the course of the investigation, the 19-year-old was targeted by the detectives. As there was increasing evidence that the adolescent man was continually trading cannabis commercially in the district, an arrest warrant was issued. According to the police, there is also talk of selling large quantities of cocaine.