‘Decriminalisation is inevitable’, says a poster during a rally for softer drug policy (Luka Pertaia/Netgazeti)
The Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled on Monday that people can no longer face administrative punishments, such as fines, for consuming cannabis. The decision, which is effective immediately, comes eight months after the court abolished criminal sanctions for cannabis use.
The ruling concerns only the consumption of cannabis, while cultivation and selling remain a crime. The decision came into force from the moment it was announced.
The verdict, delivered by the four senior judges on the court, said that punishing someone for consuming cannabis would comply with the constitution only if consumption put a third person at risk, such as consuming the drug in an educational facility, certain public spaces like in public transport, or in the presence of children.
In November 2017 the Constitution Court satisfied an appeal by non-parliamentary opposition party Girchi that it was unconstitutional to criminally prosecute people for consuming cannabis.
The party then filed another suit at the Constitutional Court to abolish administrative punishments as well, as after the first ruling consuming cannabis was punishable with a fine of up to ₾500 ($200) or corrective work of one to six months.
Monday’s ruling reads that consumption of cannabis is ‘an action protected by the right to a person’s free development’, article 16 of the constitution.
In the lawsuit, Girchi argued that consuming cannabis ‘does not constitute a public threat’.
‘It can only harm the health of the consumer, who is responsible for the results of the action’, the lawsuit read.
In a press briefing shortly after the court’s ruling was announced, Girchi’s leader, Zurab Japaridze, said that the ruling makes Georgia the first country in the post-soviet space to legalise cannabis consumption.
‘This wasn’t a fight for cannabis, this was a fight for freedom’, he said, adding that Monday’s decision made Georgia freer than it was before.
Speaking of administrative punishments for cultivating cannabis, Japaridze said that it was now up to the government to decide what kind of policy it should have as the Constitutional Court cannot decide for them.
Meanwhile, parliamentary hearings on Georgia’s drug decriminalisation bill, which could see the possession of all drugs decriminalised in Georgia, are ongoing. The hearings have been postponed several times, with parliament postponing them for the third time in May 2018.
Historically, international reports have referred to Georgia as one of the corridors for the transit of Afghan heroin towards Europe. Liberali tried to find out how Georgia is tackling drug trafficking and what has changed since 2012 under the Georgian dream government.
In September 2009, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published a report on the spread of Afghan heroin around the world.
The report noted that seven tons of heroin reached Europe through Georgia each year. Hero
Georgia’s parliament has adopted a new law restricting cannabis use, five months after the Constitutional Court made consumption of the drug legal. Restrictions allow only those 21 or above to consume the drug and only at home.
The court ruled on 30 July that any punishment for consuming cannabis was unconstitutional.
Under the new law, people will not face even administrative punishments, such as fines, if police discover they have taken cannabis. However, the new regulations adopted by
A new bill on cannabis has been introduced to parliament by Georgia’s Interior Ministry which would fully legalise consumption at home while still imposing fines for the purchase and possession of the drug. The draft law, which came in response to a Constitutional Court ruling legalising cannabis use, has faced criticism from both conservatives and rights groups.
The bill, published on Monday, would maintain penalties for public use of cannabis allowing cannabis use only at home those ov
Plans to legalise the production of cannabis for export have been put on hold in Georgia after protests from the Georgian Orthodox Church. The head of the Church, Patriarch Ilia II, spoke out against producing cannabis in Georgia, warning it would spread drug addiction in the country.
In a sermon at Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity Cathedral on Sunday, the Patriarch said that ‘the production [of cannabis] should not become a part of the private sector. If it is part of the private sector, we will not
The Constitutional Court of Georgia ruled on Monday that people can no longer face administrative punishments, such as fines, for consuming cannabis. The decision, which is effective immediately, comes eight months after the court abolished criminal sanctions for cannabis use. 
