Criminal Court No. 24 in Barcelona has acquitted a Catalan company that imported 41 kg of CBD from Italy, of which, according to analyses by the Mossos d’Esquadra, 71 g contained 0.7% THC. The prosecutor had requested a sentence of three years and eight months in prison and a fine of €250,000.

The defence, led by lawyer Oriol Casals, argued mainly that the order was for Futura and Virtus varieties (included in the EU plant species catalogue) and that the company that supplied them provided analyses proving that the hemp they supply is below 0.2%.

This case highlights the growing uncertainty faced by Spanish companies that import CBD and the unfair liability imposed by some courts on recipients of shipments made within the EU. This ruling is important precisely because it establishes that being the recipient of a shipment does not prove a punishable act or liability.