Accused drug producer planned marijuana legalisation in Serbia

Koluvija and his allies are pending trial after two indictments against them have been confirmed.

In an article for the Belgrade NIN weekly, N1's reporter Jelena Zoric wrote about where that guesswork came from, recalling that the anti-drug police officers found a project on legalisation of cannabis in Koluvija's desk which he wrote and addressed to the Health Ministry ahead of the arrest, but didn't send it before ending in jail.

If they cannot challenge evidence and win in the courtroom, will they change the law? Could the announced change save Koluvija from years in prison?
Those speculations flooded the public in Serbia and were boosted by one of Koluvija's defence team member who said that if cannabis were legalised, the Jovanjica plant owner and his criminal organisation could get milder penalties or even be acquitted.

The lawyer who demanded anonymity said that Koluvija's organisation was charged with the production of marijuana, not its distribution, and if it were legalised, its cultivation would not be a crime.

Besides, in case of changes, defendants could ask to be tried under more favourable law.

However, since Koluvija and his allies illegally produced marijuana, they could not escape punishment but could receive a milder one.

Zoric recalled that Koluvija publically presented himself as a pious, successful businessman - a producer of organic food and Indian hemp.

Monks from the Serbian Orthodox Church Hilandar monastery at Mount Athos even consecrated his plant.

He was often a member of the delegations with President Aleksandar Vucic at business forums.

Former Minister of Labor, then Defence Minister, and now the Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin, picked lettuce and tomatoes on Koluvija's property.

A senior official of Vucic's ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) Zoran Babic, promoted Jovanjica's products.

Many politicians and officials, including the Anti-Corruption Agency Direktor Dragan Sikimic also visited the farm near Stara Pazova in northern Serbia.

Dragomir Petronijevic, a member of the SNS Main and Executive boards, was often present at the organic food seminars along with Koluvija.

They also held business seminars and courses on agriculture for police officers.

Koluvija had the license for producing industrial hemp, but the investigation after his arrest showed his products had much higher Tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, which defined them as narcotics.

The indictment says that Koluvija and his allies have been in drug trade across the region and some European Union member states for the last ten years.

Koluvija, 41, was born in Germany, where he was convicted for multiple frauds before coming to Serbia in 2000. In Italy, he was charged with possessing illegal arms.