THE HAGUE, 28/04/11 - People with up to five cannabis plants at home can assume that they will not be prosecuted. The only condition is that they immediately hand over the harvest if the police come knocking, the Supreme Court has ruled.

The Public Prosecutor's Office (OM) had gone to the highest court with three similar cases to request a ruling in principle. It did so following a verdict by the appeal court in Den Bosch, which in December 2008 acquitted three people on growing cannabis. They each had five cannabis plants.

A suspect was found in Roermond with five plants in his own garden with a total harvest of 2,180 grams. A couple in Uden harvested 6,712 grams from five plants.

The OM pointed out that possession of up to 30 grams is tolerated, and demanded sentences for the suspects. But according to the Supreme Court, the amount of the harvest is not relevant. "The quantity and the weight of a cannabis harvest restricted to five plants is irrelevant," according to the verdict.

The Supreme Court ruled that growing of not more than five cannabis plants will not be prosecuted, as long as there is no question of 'exceptional circumstances' and the grower 'hands over in time' if the police come by. It bases this on a ministerial instruction dating from the year 2000.