AMSTERDAM, November 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

- Convicted Dutchman files appeal against 103 years imprisonment  

American cannabis entrepreneurs risk ending up in a Thai prison cell, Dutch lawyer Sidney Smeets of convicted DutchmanJohan van Laarhoven warns. A Thai court sentenced the former coffee shop owner to 103 years imprisonment last week. Hewill appeal the verdict. 

Van Laarhoven was convicted of money laundering by the Criminal Court in Bangkok. Disturbingly, the money the Dutchman 'laundered' was earned by selling cannabis through a legitimate business in the Netherlands. "The court ruled the money has a criminal origin, because selling cannabis is illegal in Thailand," says Sidney Smeets, one of his Dutch attorneys, currently visiting his client in Bangkok's Klong Prem prison. "The Thai judge completely ignored the fact that selling cannabis is allowed in the Netherlands."

The Dutch tolerance policy on soft drugs allows the retail of cannabis from so-called 'coffee shops' under strict conditions. All the coffee shops Van Laarhoven owned had their required license and satisfied...