Police Drafts Restrictions for Legalized Marijuana Consumption
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Friday, September 7
The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has drafted restrictions and submitted them to the parliament after the constitutional court of Georgia made marijuana consumption legal.
The draft, which needs to be approved by the legislative body, restricts marijuana consumption in public space and transport, in or within the property of the education institution, in the presence of a minor, during the gathering of the underage people or near the location they are assembled, during the activity of public servants, doctors and teachers.
The NGOs and the people, who have long supported marijuana consumption, say that Georgia must make its law softer to the consumers of all types of drugs.
They appeal to the government to invest more in treatment than in punishment.
Before October 2015, Georgia’s laws on marijuana say a person is to be jailed for 7 to 14 years if found with a large amount of marijuana. The same law determined 50-500g of marijuana as "a large amount.”
In October 2015 the Constitutional Court delivered a verdict and stated that if an individual was caught with up to 70g of dried marijuana they must not be sent to prison, as previous punishment outlined.
In 2016 the court stated repeated marijuana users would not be sent to prison.
Georgia’s Constitutional Court stated last year that no one would be sent to prison for using marijuana, which meant marijuana consumption was decriminalized.
In August this year, the administrative punishment was also removed for marijuana consumption, which meant consumption was legalized.
