Cirque du Soleil founder charged for growing cannabis on private atoll
- Under French law, Guy Laliberte risks 10 years in prison if convicted, although growers are rarely sent to jail unless they are repeat offenders
The billionaire founder of acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil, Guy Laliberte, has been charged in French Polynesia for growing cannabis on his private atoll, his lawyer said.
The Canadian entrepreneur was released on Wednesday after being formally charged with possession and cultivation of narcotics.
Detained on Tuesday, Laliberte is suspected of growing cannabis plants in a container on the atoll of Nukutepipi, which forms part of the Tuamotu island group in French Polynesia.
Under French law, he risks 10 years in prison if convicted. In practice, however, growers of pakalolo, the Polynesian name for cannabis, are not sent to jail over small quantities unless they are repeat offenders.
“This case is a distressing banality,” said his lawyer Yves Piriou, adding the cannabis in question was for “medical and personal consumption and nothing else,” while Laliberte said he found the charges “a little funny” as he left the courthouse in Papeete.