A resident of the Belgorod region who volunteered and grew narcotic plants in his garden received a lighter sentence than initially forecast in the report. The piece highlights this case as part of a broader scene in Belgorod labeled as open to public scrutiny.
The individual decided to launch his own pharmaceutical plantation and began tending the seedlings alongside an acquaintance. Together they installed several greenhouses and maintained the hemp beds with ongoing fertilization. They asserted that the purpose was personal use, not commercial sale, a claim the court considered during sentencing.
Under the applicable legal norms, those involved faced potential penalties of up to eight years in prison for illegal cultivation of plants containing drugs or psychotropic substances by a group. In this instance, the court acknowledged mitigating factors for the Belgorod resident who was in poor health, admitted guilt, cooperated with authorities in the investigation, and participated in volunteer activities as well as in public defender initiatives. Consequently, the Yakovlevsky District Court imposed a sentence of 1.9 years of correctional labor and ordered a reduction of 10 percent of his salary to be redirected to the state.
Additionally, a resident of Belgorod named Valuki, whose legs were recently painful, kept poppy straw in the attic for medicinal purposes for about a month and received a two-year sentence.
A 23-year-old woman faced a potential eight-year term after being sentenced for attempting to sell 27 grams of medicine. The case underscores how authorities view even modest quantities of regulated plants and related products in the region, highlighting the balance courts seek between enforcing narcotics laws and recognizing individual circumstances that may mitigate penalty levels.