Synthetic cannabis components to become illegal

Substances used to prepare synthetic cannabis will soon become illegal in Georgia.

A law change to criminalise basic biochemical formulas use to create synthetic cannabis was almost completed, Georgia’s Health Minister said.

Minister David Sergeenko believed this kind of drug was "very difficult to control”, which was why its components would become illegal.

"From now, these substances will be considered as illegal and all the control mechanisms and limits that are set on other legal or illegal drugs will be valid for synthetic cannabis too,” Sergeenko said.

The initiative to join to the international convention and make synthetic cannabis illegal was the brain-child of the Interior Ministry.

A discussion is currently taking place about what punishment should be appropriate for people who flout the law change. Once the proposal is completed, it will be sent to Parliament for further discussion.

Under the amendments, the following chemical substance groups will be forbidden: JWH-018, JwH-081, JWH-122, JWH-398, JWH-073, JWH-200, HU-200, CP-47, 497.