The mayor of the municipality of Waalwijk wanted to close a home in Sprang-Capelle for six months under Section 13b of the Opium Act after the discovery of 41 grams of hemp. The occupant of the property took the position from the beginning that the hemp found was for his own medicinal use to make his severe back pain more bearable. Nevertheless, the mayor stood his ground: the property had to be closed. Today, the Administrative Law Division of the Council of State (hereinafter: ABRvS), the highest administrative court in our country, ruled definitively: the house remains open.
The occupant of the property has been struggling for years with severe back pain after failed back surgery. Not only did he, with the assistance of his lawyer, document his extensive and severe medication history, but it was also substantiated through four general practitioner's statements that the occupant used medicinal cannabis from the coffee shop as pain relief. The person entitled to the property was vindicated time and again in the objection and appeal proceedings initiated by De Crom. However, the municipality stood its ground and tried to prove its case in the highest administrative court.
The mayor argued, among other things, that the court had wrongly determined that the entitled party had made it plausible that the hemp found was for his own use. Too much value had been placed on the statements of the general practitioner and the hemp should have been provided through the pharmacy to qualify as medicinal use, the mayor said. According to the mayor, the resident had made varying statements about his hemp use and medication history, and the statements of the general practitioner would also contradict each other.
However, the ABRvS ruled in favor of the occupant and Ms. J.J.H.M. de Crom in a decision dated May 22, 2019. The starting point in Section 13b Opium Act procedures is still: in the presence of more than 5 grams of hemp, it may in principle be assumed that this was intended for trade. It is then up to the entitled party to prove that the quantity found was for personal use. The administrative law judge is of the opinion that the occupant of the house in Sprang-Capelle has met the requirements and dismisses the arguments of the municipality.
According to the Division, the court correctly found that the Sprang-Capelle man's statement about his hemp use was clear and consistent, that the family doctor's statements provided sufficient support for his claim that he used hemp for pain management, and that no other items were found in the residence that indicated drug trafficking.
The mayor must reimburse all court costs and the home in Sprang-Capelle will remain open.
You can read the full ruling of the ABRvS here.
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