Parliament examining bill to define narcotics quantities to avoid overly strict punishments

A bill has been registered in the Georgian parliament to define small and large quantities of several drugs in order to avoid unjust prison sentences. 

The Chairman of the Human Rights Committee Mikheil Sarjveladze that the current legislation does not define small, large and especially large amounts for a certain number of drugs, which, in turn, creates problems in the law enforcement process.

The bill defines small, large and especially large quantities of the drugs including amphetamine, LSD, MDMA, methcathinone, methamphetamine, methadone and heroine.

In many cases, just because small quantities of drugs are not defined, it leads to the use of disproportionate penalties for drug users, often in the form of years-long prison sentences. If any amount of drugs are discovered, a person is directly exposed to disproportionately and unjustly strict [punishments],” said said Mikheil Sarjveladze, Chairman of the Human Rights Committee.

Sarjveladze said that the methodology of calculating the quantities was based on the scientific literature and on the practice of laboratory examination.