The story
On 22 February 2019 the president of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, signed a pardon for a man the courts had just ordered to prison for growing cannabis. Huanito Luksetić, then 41, has multiple sclerosis. His case became the country’s argument about medical cannabis.
Eleven plants near Rijeka
Luksetić lives in Bregi, a village above Matulji. In 2014 he was reported for growing eleven cannabis plants and possessing 15 kilograms of marijuana. He never denied it. He said he had tried conventional and unconventional treatments first, that he made oil from the plants to ease his pain, and that he grew them because he could not afford to buy the oil. Fifteen kilograms, he said, was not much for what he needed.
A year later Croatia allowed doctors to prescribe cannabis medicines for multiple sclerosis. That did not help him: the law permitted prescriptions, not a garden.
Two years, twice
| Date | Court | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| November 2017 | Rijeka Municipal Court | Two years in prison, not suspended |
| January 2019 | Osijek County Court | Sentence upheld |
| 22 February 2019 | President of the Republic | Full pardon |
The Rijeka court found that he had produced cannabis illegally and held marijuana for sale; the amount, it reasoned, was too large for personal use. When the county court confirmed the sentence, his lawyer, Vladimir Gredelj, said it was “in effect a death sentence” and that his client would not survive two years in prison. His mother asked publicly for help: her son, she said, had harmed no one and had only fought for his health.
The pardon
Within two days the president wrote on Twitter that she would use her power to pardon him if he asked. Her office explained that it could not be automatic: a petition had to go through the justice ministry. The lawyer filed it.
The decision she signed reads: a full pardon is given from serving the sentence imposed. It was published in the official gazette on 1 March, and the judge in Rijeka stopped the enforcement and cancelled the summons that had called Luksetić to prison on 22 March. The conviction itself stands.
Why the index did not move
A pardon is an act of mercy for one person; it changes no rule. Growing even a few plants remained a crime in Croatia, for patients as for anyone else, so the cultivation score stays where it was. Two months later an amendment allowed cannabis to be grown for medicine, but only by licensed pharmaceutical companies.[1][2][3][4]
Listed for context. No score change is recorded for Croatia here.
References
- Index.hr — Huanito mora u zatvor (25 January 2019)archived
- Novi list — report on the confirmed sentence of Huanito Luksetić (25 January 2019)archived
- Novi list — report on the president's promise of a pardon (27 January 2019)archived
- Novi list — Potpuni oprost za Huanita Luksetića (2 March 2019)archived
Checked. The date and the event were compared with a source that was read.