Administrative punishment for marijuana consumption abolished

The Constitutional Court of Georgia delivered a verdict today, which frees marijuana consumers from administrative punishment.

With the decision the court met the demands of the presidential candidate of the Girchi Party Zurab Japaridze and the party member Vakhtang Megrelishvili.

This was the fight for freedom and we won the fight. The verdict will be a big stroke for illegal marijuana dealing,” Japaridze said.

However, the court says that marijuana consumption will be prohibited in the situations when it violates the interests of others.

Marijuana consumption remains prohibited:

• At and in educational institutions.
• During the presence of underage people.
• At the places of public assembly, like public transport and etc.

Before October 2015, Georgia’s laws on marijuana stated a person to be jailed for seven to 14 years if they were 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 same court stated repeated marijuana users would not be sent to prison.

Georgia’s Constitutional Court  revealed a verdict in 2017, saying that no one will be sent to prison for using marijuana.

Trafficking of any type of drugs in Georgia remain punishable and is in the category of the grave crime.