© dpa
Just under a year after the extensive legalization of cannabis, 178 penalties have already been imposed in Berlin for marijuana or hashish offences.
This was reported by the public prosecutor's office to the German Press Agency. 71 sentences were reassessed. In one case, the review led to release from prison. A total of 249 cases were reviewed by the deadline of March 13.
The reason for this is the amnesty provision for old cases contained in the law. It applies in particular to preliminary proceedings that are still ongoing and sentences in which fines have not yet been paid or prison sentences have not yet been served. These proceedings must be reviewed in order to clarify whether the sentences are fully or partially covered by the intended amnesty. In Berlin, this concerned around 5,400 criminal proceedings (as of 8.11.2024) involving drug offenses involving cannabis, explained a spokesperson for the public prosecutor's office. Last year, more than 5,700 cases were reported.
According to the public prosecutor's office, the number of cases is subject to fluctuations due to corrections in the recorded data. "There is no separate statistical record of the proceedings affected by the amnesty regulation," explained the spokesperson for the authorities. As of November 8, 2024, the preliminary checks had largely been completed.