Latvia: police cut off all her hemp, she gets compensation

A 72-year-old Latvian woman has just received a nice check for 1,500 euros from the administrative court. This grandmother, an amateur gardener, was the victim of a major blunder by the Vilani police. The courts in this country bordering the Baltic Sea have awarded her compensation.

One afternoon in August 2018, the police showed up in her garden and cut down her 363 hemp plants. Dzidra Bruzgule shouted herself hoarse. She promised the officers that it wasn’t cannabis. But it was no use. The police replied: «That's the distinctive smell of cannabis!»

Dzidra is having a hard time recovering from the emotional turmoil. «I was working in my yard when a line of cars pulled up. There were two vans and a police car.", "says the 70-year-old woman on the public radio and television station LSM". »They told me they're filing criminal charges against me for growing hemp."

The 363 plants were seized. They were analyzed in a laboratory. In the end, it turned out to be… hemp. It is indeed the plant that produces cannabis flowers. The police were right. But Some varieties of hemp produce almost no flowers.. And above all, hemp is used for thousands of years in the kitchen, to make clothes, or even to insulate your home.

Two months' salary

The police have apologized, two months after the incident. But that’s not enough. The grandmother is seeking 3,000 euros in damages. She points out «Stress and Health Problems» caused by the police operation. She was ultimately awarded 1,500 euros. That is the equivalent of approximately two months' net pay, in a country where the minimum wage is barely more than 130 euros. 

This is a great victory for Dzidra. «I promised them, right from the first day: I'll go to Strasbourg" [European Parliament headquarters] »On foot if I have to, but I'll get justice! These are barbaric acts—it's like a nightmare!"

In Latvia and the other two Baltic countries, hemp is very popular. The locals use it in their cooking, to make butter, oils, and cakes, but also tablecloths and bed linens. The hemp butter is even one of Latvia's specialties.