(The online newspaper) On Tuesday, Simen Velle, leader of Fremskrittspartiets ungdom (FpU), talked about drug use and how he regularly used cannabis as a youth. He also says that he has used cocaine twice in his life.
In 2019, Velle received a sentence of 30 days’ suspended imprisonment for breach of the Criminal Code § 231 first paragraph, cf. strl (2005) § 15 for illegally storing drugs, or contributing to this.
– It has been a really heavy burden. But being open and honest, and telling if it has been the right thing to do. I’m putting all my cards on the table, says Velle, who is clear that he deeply regrets it, to VG.
In the judgment, which Nettavisen has access to, it is stated that Velle was summoned for questioning after the police seized 100 grams of cannabis that he and two others had obtained. In total, the three must have paid between NOK 11,000 and 12,000 for the drug.
“He chose then and there to say that it wasn’t him, and that he had no knowledge of who owned the drug,” the judgment says, which also emphasizes that Velle later retracted this in a new interview.
Will not answer questions
Nettavisen has asked Velle why he lied to the police in the first interview.
– I have given an interview to VG, and I have no comment beyond that, replies Velle via SMS. He does not want to do a telephone interview.
Nettavisen has also asked Velle the following questions, but he has not answered:
– 100 grams is 300-400 user doses. Was any of this for sale?
Velle tells Dagbladet that he has never sold drugs. To VG, he says that during this period he smoked cannabis with a frequency that varied from once a month to once a week.
According to the service Rusinfo, which is supported by the Directorate of Health, one user dose of cannabis is approximately 0.2-0.3 grams. Thus, 100 grams is somewhere between 300 and 500 user doses.
In 2021, the Solberg government proposed a drug reform that did not receive a majority in the Storting, where the FRP voted against. The Attorney General has instructed that a person should not be stopped or searched if they are carrying drugs for their own use, within certain limits.
Own use involves 5 grams of heroin, amphetamines and cocaine. For cannabis, the limit is set at 15 grams, writes Forskning.no in a case from 2022. Read more in this note from The Attorney General.
In the judgment from 2019, there is also the following to read about Velle following the cannabis seizure:
“He came to terms with himself and would rather own up to what he had done and be done with it. What happened on the day in question was very stupid. But he is also happy that he was caught. This comes from the fact that it was all a ‘wake-up call’ for him in his life”.
After VG’s case was published, Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug also spoke out about the case. To Nettavisen, Listhaug says that she is happy that Velle chooses to be open and that she believes he can be a role model for other young people in a difficult situation.
– There are many who experience a difficult youth and who make stupid choices. Simen tells a strong story. I think it is good that he is open and honest about the problems he has faced. He can be a good role model for other young people in a difficult situation, says Listhaug to Nettavisen.
Roses by Unge Høre leader
In front of Nettavisen, Ola Svenneby, leader of Unge Høyre, praised Simen Velle for his openness.
On Tuesday morning, Svenneby said:
– Simen has my full support. I am very grateful to read how open he is, says Svenneby to Nettavisen.
Velle recently announced his ambition for a place in the Storting for the Progress Party.
– If anything, this makes him more qualified to sit in the Storting. A place where we need more people who have life experience they should have been without, but who have taken the consequences of their choices and made up for themselves, Svenneby continues.