By Alex Nicholson Staff Writer Yukos has won a court victory: It can legally sell Cannabis Vodka. The oil giant and its billionaire owners, who are fighting multibillion-dollar tax claims and tax and fraud charges, may rest a little easier after a Voronezh court threw out a lawsuit claiming they were promoting drug use by selling the vodka at one of their gas stations. The case started when three drug agents confiscated a bottle of the Czech-made vodka from Gas Station No. 26 in Voronezh on April 2, said Prokhor Merkushov, spokesman for Voronezhnefteprodukt, the Yukos subsidiary that owns the station. The Federal Anti-Drug Service then filed a complaint that Voronezhnefteprodukt had violated Article 6.13 of the Administrative Code, which forbids the promotion of drugs, and the law on advertising, which forbids the promotion of drinking and drugs. It said the court could just read the label of a bottle to see the merits of the case. Cannabis Vodka is sold in a clear glass bottle with a green marijuana leaf. Its label reads, "Cannabis vodka. An alcoholic drink prepared from hemp seed extract. Try this wonderful drink, but don't forget its extraordinary powers." The Central Voronezh Court ordered a psycholinguistic examination of the label and ruled Monday that the text promoted vodka sales rather than drug use. The court also found that Voronezhnefteprodukt had not violated the advertising law since it has not promoted the vodka in any way. Merkushov said Tuesday that his company has no plans to take the case further. He said, however, that he found it odd that the vodka, which is sold in stores across the country, was only confiscated from the one gas station. "This suggests that it was done for show," he said. A drug official, however, suggested that the case was not over. "They won today, but who knows what will happen tomorrow?" he said. Cannabis Vodka is made by the Czech-based L'OR, which also produces a range of absinthes. Robert Gross, L'OR's spokesman for Russia and English-speaking countries, said he was unaware of the Yukos case but not surprised by it. He insisted the drink is legal since it contains no delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the main chemical ingredient in marijuana. Rotor House, which has distributed Cannabis Vodka in Russia for two years, said it has won several cases filed by the anti-drug service this year. Drug officials took an interest three months ago when Rotor House starting selling the bottles in a gift box with shot glasses decorated with marijuana leaves, a senior company official said. The vodka has been banned in Kaliningrad. A court there conducted its own analysis of the label and ruled in April that it encourages drug use. Court rulings are not precedent-setting in Russia. |
Posted by SoulJah at 2:28:00 AM
Archives
12/2001 08/2002 09/2002 10/2002 11/2002 12/2002 01/2003 02/2003 03/2003 04/2003 05/2003 06/2003 08/2003 10/2003 11/2003 12/2003 01/2004 02/2004 03/2004 04/2004 05/2004 06/2004 07/2004 08/2004 09/2004 10/2004 11/2004 12/2004 01/2005 02/2005 03/2005 04/2005 05/2005 06/2005 07/2005 08/2005 09/2005 10/2005 11/2005 12/2005 01/2006 02/2006 03/2006 04/2006 05/2006 08/2006 09/2006 10/2006 11/2006 12/2006 01/2007 02/2007 03/2007 04/2007 05/2007 06/2007 07/2007 08/2007 09/2007 10/2007 11/2007 12/2007 01/2008 02/2008 03/2008 04/2008 05/2008 06/2008 07/2008 08/2008 09/2008 10/2008 11/2008 12/2008 01/2009 02/2009 03/2009 04/2009 05/2009 06/2009 07/2009 08/2009 10/2009 12/2009 02/2010 03/2010