Former U.S. Ambassador Suspected of Supplying Medical Cannabis

Mark Fogel, a 60-year-old U.S. citizen, is a former employee of the American Embassy in Moscow. Along with his wife, he held diplomatic status until May 2021. After his diplomatic term ended, Fogel chose not to return to the United States and instead took a teaching position at the Anglo-American School, an elite private institution with advanced English language studies. This school was established in 1949 by the embassies of the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, and gives enrollment priority to the children of diplomats from these countries.

The Ambassador Who Knew Nothing

Fogel might have remained unknown to the public if not for news reports in August 2021 about his detention at Sheremetyevo Airport. According to law enforcement sources, customs officers found an electronic cigarette, 14 cannabis oil cartridges, and a contact lens case containing cannabis buds weighing a total of 11 grams in Fogel’s luggage as he arrived from New York with his wife. Fogel was immediately detained, while his wife was released. He was later charged with large-scale drug smuggling and illegal possession (under Articles 229.1 Part 3 and 228 Part 2 of the Russian Criminal Code) and placed in Moscow’s Detention Center No. 5.

In December of that year, members of the Public Monitoring Commission visited the detention center and spoke with Fogel. He told human rights advocates that he had received the cannabis by prescription from a doctor, as he had previously undergone spinal surgery and needed relief from the aftereffects. Fogel also claimed he was unaware of Russia’s ban on medical cannabis.

Drug Dealers Play Baseball

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) issued its first official comment on the incident on January 27, 2022. According to the ministry’s press release, Fogel had carefully concealed the cannabis—cartridges and the contact lens case were wrapped in plastic and hidden inside sneakers in his luggage.

Since July 2021, New York State Police have stopped confiscating cannabis weighing up to 85 grams at airports, including international ones.

The MVD also stated that Fogel may have used his diplomatic status “to organize a channel for supplying narcotics to Russia for subsequent distribution among students” at the Anglo-American School. However, no evidence supporting this theory has been made public. The ministry only reported that, according to surveillance footage, Fogel’s wife removed a package from their home before the search team arrived, threw it in a trash bin, then retrieved it, placed it in a bag, and took it outside the residential complex.

The MVD Media portal supplemented the press release with several videos, including footage of Fogel’s detention at the airport, a statement from the police department head leading the investigation, and searches conducted at the Anglo-American School.

The date of the search was not specified, but the video shows heavy snowfall, indicating the visit was recent—just like the theory about drug dealing. During the operation, law enforcement officers seized documents, personal belongings, and a baseball bat. They did not find “twelve suitcases packed to the brim with marijuana,” even with the help of a sniffer dog.