Law and order are being upheld. - In Saarland, 470 penalties have been given out for cannabis-related offenses.
Since the semi-legalization of marijuana on April 1st, around 470 cases in the Saarbrücken Public Prosecutor's Office have had their sentences dropped. These situations are dubbed "pure dismissal cases" and generally involved individuals who were only convicted of possessing cannabis, now lawful under specific conditions for personal use. Most of these cases have been processed by the Public Prosecutor's Office. "There's barely anything left undone," commented the spokesperson.
Furthermore, an estimated 335 cases fall under penal decree, where a court must establish a new sentence. These are classified as mixed cases, as individuals were convicted of multiple offenses. In such cases, the sentence is lesser because the component related to cannabis possession or cultivation is removed. These cases are "almost completely unrestricted. The main bulk of the judicial re-sentencing of penalties is still in progress," mentioned the spokesperson.
Most of the now-unprosecutable instances associated with cannabis possession occurred. In the majority of the pure dismissal cases, fines were imposed. Arrests were "barely noticeable" in relation to the overall volume of cases affected, stated the spokesperson.
Two adults in Saarland have been freed from custody since April 1st because of partial dismissal or sentence reductions. The numerical minority of convicts, with one of their mandated sentences being removed: These individuals continued to stay incarcerated for the fulfillment of the remaining, non-impacted sentences.
Overall, all 21,000 enforcement proceedings at the Saarbrücken Public Prosecutor's Office had to be re-evaluated with the new cannabis statutes in place. Around 3,000 cases were prioritized for assessment to find out whether the new conditions might influence them. This assessment is mostly completed, we are told. Thus far, approximately 800 cases have been identified in which sentences required amends or erasure or still do.
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In the context of the new cannabis law, the Public Prosecutor's Office in Saarbrücken has seen a significant decrease in cannabis-related penalties, leading to the dismissal of around 470 cases. This shift towards leniency in Saarland's justice system is a direct result of the semi-legalization of marijuana for personal use.
Despite the decrease in penalties, the Public Prosecutor's Office is still working on around 335 cases that require a court to establish a new sentence, as these individuals were convicted of multiple offenses. The re-sentencing process is ongoing, with the main bulk yet to be completed.
As a result of the new cannabis law, health in Saarland has benefited in a indirect way, as fewer individuals are facing penalties for personal use of cannabis, contributing to a more harmonious relationship between the law and personal autonomy.
