Court gives Amsterdammer permission to grow medicinal weed in rental home

Amsterdam resident Rudolf Hillebrand can continue to grow medicinal cannabis in his rental home, despite objections by his housing association Eigen Haard, the district court ruled on Monday.

The 58-year-old man is HIV positive and needs the cannabis to treat nausea and vomiting. He uses about 5 grams of cannabis a day. Hillebrand needs 51 cannabis plants to constantly have enough cannabis to treat his HIV related complaints.

Hillebrand was infected with HIV in an incident with a contaminated needle while working in an intensive care in 1992. In a previous case against him, after the police raided his home in 2015 and charged him with illegal cannabis cultivation, Hillebrand explained that the cannabis that is medically available does not work for him. And buying from a coffeeshop is too expensive, because his health insurance does not cover it.

In February last year the court ruled in the illegal cannabis cultivation case that Hillebrand could continue to grow his cannabis. But then Eigen Haard told Hillebrand that he has to leave his rental home if he wants to continue cultivating cannabis.

On Monday the district court ruled against the housing association's objections to Hillebrand cultivating cannabis in his rental home. According to the court, Hillebrand "walked all possible roads to prevent home cultivation" and that "at this time there is apparently no other possibility for him to have sufficient functioning cannabis at his disposal." The court ruled that he is not causing problems for neighbors and the electrical installation for the cannabis farm has been approved.

The court also ruled that Eigen Haard has to pay the legal costs, an amount of 450 euros.

Eigen Haard does not have any further steps planned at this stage. "We will study the verdict calmly and see on its basis what the consequences are", a spokesperson said to AD.