This Tuesday, the committee of the Bill on multi-recidivism meets in the Senate and, immediately after, the Justice Committee plans to give the green light to the text. The PSOE has promoted an amendment to toughen penalties for the use of electricity to power illegal drug crops, such as, for example, marijuana. The socialists are negotiating for the PP to accept it and for it to be incorporated into the articles.
The Socialist Group in the Senate proposes adding a new section 3 to article 255 of the Penal Code so that any fraud committed with the purpose of supplying electricity to facilities used for the cultivation of toxic drugs, narcotic substances, and psychotropic substances is punished with prison sentences of six to 18 months or a fine of 12 to 24, regardless of the amount defrauded.
From the PSOE they argue that the aggravated subtype of electricity fraud responds to the need to demand a “greater criminal reproach” for those linked to crimes against public health; with special attention to indoor marijuana crops, which is where they are most frequently committed.
“The scandalous increase in these marijuana plantations throughout Spanish territory has exponentially increased illegal connections to the electricity supply, the criminal response provided for in the current article 255 of the Penal Code being insufficient, where only fines of up to twelve months are contemplated,” they add.
They add, however, that, considering the principle of proportionality of sentences and those provided for in article 368 of the Penal Code for crimes against public health related to substances that do not cause serious harm —punishable with sentences of one to three years of imprisonment—, it is considered appropriate to introduce a prison sentence of six to eighteen months, similar to that provided for the basic type of theft. In addition, it is proposed to alternatively incorporate a fine of twelve to twenty-four months, so that the judicial body can choose between one or the other and graduate it according to the concurrent circumstances, such as the greater or lesser seriousness of the act, the amount of the fraud or the personal circumstances of the perpetrator.