Court abolishes imprisonment for sowing of cannabis for personal use
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Georgia’s Constitutional Court delivered a verdict today through which sowing or cultivation of cannabis for only personal use is no longer punished with imprisonment.
The solution came after the appeal of Georgian citizens David Khomeriki and Lasha Gagishvili against the Parliament of Georgia, who were demanding the ban on several norms of the Criminal Code.
The people asked the Court to declare the norms, which say sowing/cultivation of 63,73gr, 150,72gr and 265,49gr of cannabis, unconstitutional.
The Court decided that imprisonment for sowing/cultivation of 63,73gr and 150,72gr cannabis were unlawful, as the amount of drug could be used for only personal use.
However, they declared sowing/cultivation of 265,49gr cannabis still remains punishable with prison, as in this case there is a threat of selling the drug.
When it came to the imprisonment from six to 11 years for sowing/cultivation of 265,49gr cannabis the Court stressed the term "was obviously not proportional,” which means it will be revised.
People previously sent to prison for cannabis use, or those who were punished by a court of law for smoking marijuana will not be sent to prison again if they reoffend, announced Georgia’s Constitutional Court.
The paved area in front of the Government Administration building turned into a party zone this afternoon as hundreds of Georgians gathered to protest the country's strict drug rules.
Georgia’s Health Minister is promising a major overhaul of the country’s drug laws after admitting current rules are too strict against users of marijuana and other soft drugs, and too lenient against prescription medicines.
A handful of inmates jailed for using marijuana are now walking free following the Georgian Constitutional Court’s historic ruling to relax the country’s drug laws.