Marijuana plant grower jailed in Bahrain
Manama, June 10, 2014
A businessman has been jailed and fined for growing marijuana at his home in Bahrain.
The 24-year-old Bahraini was sentenced to 12 months behind bars and fined BD1,000 (2,624) by the High Criminal Court yesterday, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.
Police who raided his home also found three pieces of hashish weighing 767 grams.
He was convicted of possessing, using and growing cannabis at his home in Manama.
However, he was cleared of dealing drugs by judges who ruled the quantity seized was not enough to sell.
"The defendant was found guilty of growing a marijuana plant and possessing it along with hashish," read court verdict documents.
"However, we found him not guilty of selling the drug due to the lack of evidence and amount of the confiscated drug."
The defendant told prosecutors he regularly bought marijuana for his own personal use, but was "curious" about growing it himself.
"I would buy marijuana from a man in Hamad Town and I tried helping the police set up a sting operation to arrest him after I was caught, but my dealer said he had no stash," the businessman told prosecutors.
"I found a marijuana seed when I bought the drugs from him and decided to grow it at my house out of curiosity.
"I put the seed in soil and watered it in a plastic container.
"I moved the position of the plant around the house and would take care of it to see what happened.
"Then I left my house for a haircut, but policemen arrested me and said they had a warrant to search my home.
"They found hashish in my pockets and the marijuana plant at home." - TradeArabia News Service
