Criminal already as a teenager

The age of initiation into smoking pot is falling and more and more young people are trying cannabis products. That's why more and more of them are coming into contact with the police. What happens when under-18s get caught in the clutches of the justice system? When young people smoke pot, it is illegal and the police report them and take away the weed or the hash. But the punishment is not carried out by the adult authorities (governor, district office, police judge or district attorney's office), but by the youth prosecutor's office. This is responsible for all persons who are less than 18 years old. The documents we are documenting here show exemplarily how the behavior of the judicial authorities develops over several referrals.

The teenager has become conspicuous because he smoked a joint in public. To this end, he admitted to having started smoking pot almost four months ago. In the first letter, the juvenile lawyer asks the juvenile to participate in a discussion about drug use. Instead of punishment, a round of talks takes place at the addiction prevention center. Various negative effects of drug use are discussed. Addressing these potential problems together with young people is certainly not a bad thing. However, the most important aspect of drug use is often missing: it is nice to use drugs. Hemp products in particular can have a variety of positive effects, including on young people. And it's not the negative effects that make people consume hash and weed, but the positive ones: the relaxation, the funny feeling, the pleasant mood, the experience of a completely new space for thinking and sensory perception. This is generally a big problem with prevention: it often “forgets” all the positive things that people can experience when smoking pot (or it simply doesn't want to admit it). In this way, however, prevention always falls short. The concrete experience of the smokers is then so different from what the prevention experts say that they are simply not taken seriously. (Which is also a pity, because there are negative effects of smoking pot, especially the damage caused by smoking).

But a course is not enough - after all, smoking pot is a criminal offense. Therefore, in the second letter, a reprimand is issued, whereby no fine is pronounced, but the young person must pay 30 francs fees .

In addition, the parents are informed in a third letter that their offspring has committed an illegal act and that they should please take better care of their child.

In the case of the second incident, the juvenile prosecutor's office then issues a summary penalty order, i.e. there is a fine and fees of a total of 84 francs. On the reverse side, the juvenile prosecutor still points out that the juvenile probably did not draw any conclusions from the addiction prevention course and “unflinchingly” continued his drug consumption. He explains that this punishment is also rather symbolic, that in adult criminal law the fines are higher and even prison sentences are possible. He suggests to the juvenile that he should go to an addiction counseling center again.

Now the teenager has reached the age of majority and simply does not think about stopping smoking pot, why should he? However, the police continue to hold on to the criminal liability and report the new adult again at the next opportunity. This time, the district office is responsible and issues a first adult licensesummary penalty order. It costs 180 francs this time.