The Staten Island teenager who was arrested for marijuana possession in Russia while on a vacation with her mother in July has been released from jail, authorities said this week.
Audrey Lorber, 19, was sentenced to time served and fined 15,000 rubles — a little over $230 — after being found guilty of “attempting to import marijuana purchased in the US into Russia,” the Moscow District Court of St. Petersburg said Monday.
“Given the length of the detention, Lorber was released from serving her sentence, as well as from custody,” the translated statement said.
The Pace University film student was arrested at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg when Russian agents found her with 19 grams of weed, which is worth about $375 in the US.
She had a prescription for medical marijuana in the US and produced the court documents to prove it, but the script did not, “apply to the territory of the Russian Federation,” according to local authorities.
Lorber and her mother, retired New York City school teacher Rochelle Lorber, were on vacation in the Eastern European nation when Audrey was caught with the pot.
The Tottenville High School graduate will be required to stay in St. Petersburg for 10 days before she is able to head home, court officials told CBS News.
During that period, Lorber or the government have the right to appeal the ruling.
Russia imprisons more people per capita for drug crimes than any other European nation, according to the Moscow Times. Most are arrested for violating the same law Lorber was sentenced for: Article 228 of the Russian Criminal Code.
The law’s nickname in Russian translates to the “people’s article” — because of the enormous number of people jailed for violating it. A quarter of all of Russia’s prisoners are in jail for drug-related crimes, according to the paper.
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