Marijuana possession: the Valleys defence

Why didn't Howard Marks think of this one? The Indy reports that an Italian shepherd "was caught with marijuana in his car as he was setting off for an extended period with his flock in the mountains of Alto Adige, in the far north of the country. Police found 38 grammes in the car, and the shepherd, identified only as Giorgio D, was convicted of possession.

"But upholding an appeal against the verdict, the Court of Cassation ruled the shepherd was justified in possessing this small quantity of the drug on account of 'the long and solitary period' he was about to spend 'in the countryside and the mountains, due to the migration of his flock of sheep'."