End of the nightmare: Ponto de Equilíbrio's bassist leaves prison after two weeks! Check!

Pedro Caetano, known as "Pedrada", bassist of the band Ponto de Equilíbrio, was released last July 14, at 9 pm, after being imprisoned for 14 days on charges of drug trafficking. After a tip, the police went to the musician's house, where they found 10 marijuana plants and 8 marijuana plants. Pedro would respond according to article 33, which prohibits importing, selling, exposing for sale and offering illicit drugs. However, his family had been fighting since July 2 for the bassist to be included in article 28, which decriminalizes anyone who uses, cultivates or harvests plants for personal consumption. The release permit arrived in the early evening of the 14th at the Criminal Mandates Center at Polinter, and Pedro was released at 9:00 pm. The artist's brother, Tiago Caetano, keyboardist in the same band, said that the news is a relief for the family. "The feeling here in our house is one of justice and great relief. My brother is not a drug dealer, but a great musician. He plants for his own consumption", he concluded. Tiago also said that there was a delay in the process of his brother's freedom, due to Brazil's World Cup games, and the bureaucracy in relation to documentation, as Pedro was arrested in São Gonçalo, and then transferred to Polinter do Grajaú, for his greater comfort and convenience. And he reported that the document requesting Pedro's freedom only arrived at the prosecutor's office last Monday, when the process was then expedited. The band's show scheduled for this period was not cancelled. The presentation, held without the presence of "Pedrada", was in Porto Alegre, on July 9th, with an audience of seven thousand people. Bassist Ronaldo Rocha, who is also a friend of Pedro, played in his place at the event. Below, the letter that Pedro wrote the day before he was released.

LETTER WRITTEN IN PRISON

Pedro Pedrada - day 13/07 "Brothers and sisters from all over Brazil… Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their attention and interest and I sincerely ask that we not let this flame go out… It all started about five years ago, when I had my first baby. In fact, I never really hid what I planted even though I knew I could get caught for it. On the contrary, I was proud of not financing trafficking and, on top of that, enjoying an herb with unparalleled purity and quality.Unfortunately the worst happened and I was "caught" with my plants in my backyard. This occurred due to a complaint from someone who was upset with my custom and reported me to the police of the 75th DP of Rio do Ouro, a fact that I question, as I live in Itaipu (ocean region of Niterói), area of ​​the 81st DP. From the moment I was approached I realized the purpose of the police and did not offer any resistance, including allowing them to enter my home. After all, those who shouldn't, don't fear. From there I was sent to the 75th DP, where I was soaked in a storage cell with a damp floor and a terrible smell, with some old motorcycles cluttered up and another prisoner to share a chair and newspaper on the floor to lie down on. I stayed there from 10 am until 6 pm waiting for the situation to unfold. While I was waiting, the press was called and, together with forensic experts, they went to my residence. There, unfortunately the press invaded my property without permission from my wife who was there. While they posed for photos with the plants and seemed to have fun with the situation along with the forensics staff, my wife, to protect herself, stayed in the room crying and asking the press to leave, to no avail. Back at the police station, with my lawyer in action, I was charged under article 33 as a drug trafficker. Irony of fate, I, who was proud of not collaborating with drug trafficking, found myself trapped like this. On the 75th I went to Polinter in Neves (São Gonçalo). As soon as I got there I was forced to shave my hair and beard and go to "xadrex 8″, where I shared a cell of approximately 40 m² with 70 other prisoners. But thank God and my friends I didn't have to spend the whole night there, in "xadrex 8″. And in the middle of the night I had the privilege of going to a more humane cell. The next day I was transferred to Polinter do Grajaú, where I am now. I arrived just before Brazil's game against the Netherlands. As soon as I arrived, they put me in a place called "piggy": a small closed room measuring approximately 7 m², where prisoners wait to be taken to their cells. As luck would have it, just before the game, the "piggy bank" was overcrowded with 18 prisoners and we had to wait uncomfortably while the Brazil game was going on. I'll never forget that, thank God the game didn't go to extra time. Now I'm in "X-12″ with two other prisoners. I can say that I'm in human conditions close to what I see in other cells right here. Around here life is bare and raw. It's a kind of forced crash course in how to live life. You see clearly that there is only one thing to do: cling to God.Out there, I am known in the music world as Pedro "Pedrada", bassist of the Banda Ponto de Equilíbrio, very popular in the reggae segment (a rhythm of Jamaican origin with many fans in Brazil). Like many, I am a Rastafarian. Rastafari for some is a philosophy of life, for others it's a haircut, but for me and many brothers and sisters it's a religion and there's a whole culture around dreadlocks. One of the most surprising features of Rastafari culture is the use of ganja (cannabis sativa popularly known as "marijuana"). Within religious rituals where the Bible and other sacred texts are read, we play the drum to the rhythm Nyahbinghi and sing hymns of praise to God (Jah) and the elements of nature. Even Prince Charles has participated in a ritual Nyahbinghi, you can watch it in a video posted on YouTube. As a Rastafarian, I have always seen ganja as a sacred plant and sought to use it respectfully in accordance with the precepts of the religion I follow. Since Brazil is a secular country, I felt deeply harmed by the attitude of the police and the press and the way I was treated. Another element of my religion are dreadlocks, the type of hair used by dreadlocks, which I was forced to cut to enter Neves. A fact that also harmed me morally and spiritually. I end by thanking once again everyone who is aware of the cause and managed to get here. I am left with the utopian expectation of an advance in legislative policy so that others do not suffer what my family and I suffered and I warn, in an election year, to vote consciously. Peace, love and open paths for the Brazilian people. Pedro "Pedrada" Caetano"