82-Year-Old Repeat Weed-Dealing Offender & Former Sailor Gets Off With A 'Last Warning,' Next Time Prison

A German court gave an 82-year-old man a “last warning” to avoid jail time after he was found guilty of selling weed, despite 24 previous convictions.

The retired pensioner, who is a former sailor, was convicted of dealing several dozen grams of weed in 2022 and at the start of 2023. He says he’s just trying to supplement his meager monthly pension of €800 ($857) by selling cannabis. He was given a suspended sentence by a court in the northern town of Aurich, which is in the East Frisian region of Lower Saxony, Germany.

The German news agency DPA reported that prosecutors had asked the court to put the octogenarian in the slammer for 34 months in view of his lengthy criminal record and an existing suspended sentence.

But the judges took mercy on the man saying they would make an exception for him and classify the most recent crimes as “less serious offenses” because of the man’s circumstances, presumably his age, financial state and recent health problems.

"We have taken into account the circumstances in which you did this," said the presiding judge to the defendant.

However, the judge warned that this would be the man's "very last warning" to avoid jail.

The senior citizen has been assigned a probation officer by the state, and the ruling can still be subject to appeal.

Germany’s long-awaited cannabis legalization plan was unveiled in late April by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach though little has moved since then.