He was arrested after neighbors complained that he was playing classical music too loud

May 31, 2014 07:17 GMT  ·  By

If you thought drugs and classical music have nothing in common, I'm afraid you couldn't be more wrong, as a Romanian man has managed to grow no less than 35 kilograms of cannabis with a little help from Antonio Vivaldi's music. Well, given that growing pot is an illegal activity in Romania, this got him arrested, but still, classical music had a positive effect on his crops.

The 36-year-old drug trafficker, identified as Constantin Paraschiv, was arrested after police discovered that he grew cannabis plants in two locations in the capital city of Bucharest.

Apparently, the man was using some modern technologies to speed up the process, including music therapy. He was using classical music by Vivaldi, because he had heard that playing music to plants made them grow more quickly.

According to some research in the field, plants can indeed respond to sound waves, stimuli and different frequencies, so playing classical music to them could actually have a positive effect on their growth, but this is just a theory for the moment, and is not supported by hard scientific evidence.

Local news outlet HotNews informs that Paraschiv was arrested by prosecutors from the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) with the help of policemen from the Narcotics Division on illicit drug trafficking charges. He will remain in police custody for at least 30 days.

We could say that Vivaldi ratted him out, as police started to investigate him after neighbors complained that he was playing the Italian composer's music too loud.

Authorities searched the two houses where he was running his pot business, and they found an elaborate growing system for the indoor cultivation and development of cannabis plants, including a complete maintenance, heating and air filtration system, and an audio system the accused was allegedly using to stimulate plant growth.

Investigators seized over 23 kg of marijuana crops and 9.8 kg of pot ready to be distributed, as well as money from drug sales.

The total haul ascended to some 35 kg of cannabis, with an estimated value of about €350,000 ($477,000) on the black market, at an average price of €10 ($13.63) per gram. The Romanian police also seized the equipment Paraschiv used for the indoor cannabis cultivation and €12,000 ($16,400) in cash.

In Romania, it's illegal to smoke, own, grow or sell marijuana. However, possession of small quantities of drug preparations is punishable by a small fine of about €110-140 ($150–200). Possession of large amounts may result in 3–6 years of jail time, and sale may result in more than 6 years jail time.