By Civil.ge
The illegal purchase or possession of up to five grams of dried marijuana can now be punished by up to six years in prison in Georgia.
On July 2, the Georgian Dream parliament rubber-stamped the relevant legislative amendments to the country鈥檚 Criminal Code, placing marijuana and cannabis possession under the same category as other drugs. During deliberations, GD MP Archil Gorduladze noted that rules regarding consumption remain unchanged.
Concerns over stricter laws have grown following the accompanied changes to the Criminal Procedure Code that allow the identities of witnesses involved in covert investigative operations to remain fully secret, even when their testimony could lead to a guilty verdict. Critics fear that the GD is preparing to plant drugs on its opponents, leaving future defendants with fewer chances to prove their innocence.
鈥淭his is not about tightening drug policy – it鈥檚 about preparing the system for mass drug planting,鈥 lawyer Saba Brachveli said in a Facebook post, adding, 鈥淛ournalists won鈥檛 cover it, cameras won鈥檛 catch it, and now even the defense won鈥檛 be able to investigate it properly.”
Under the new rules, possession of larger amounts of marijuana 鈥 up to 70 grams 鈥 is punishable by five to eight years in prison. For particularly large quantities, defined as up to 250 grams of dried marijuana, the sentence can reach 20 years or life in prison.
The amendments also remove a clause that had excluded marijuana and cannabis from the list of substances triggering similar prison sentences for illegal manufacturing, production, transportation, or distribution. Marijuana and cannabis now fall under those provisions as well.
Sowing, planting, and cultivating cannabis will carry relatively smaller prison terms.
The changes come as Georgian Dream tightens its drug policy as part of its 鈥渦ncompromised鈥 fight against drug dealers. The one-party parliament on July 2 also banned private entities from carrying out opioid replacement therapies and importing psychotropic drugs into the country.
18/03/2025 -GD to Introduce Forced Treatment of Drug Crime Convicts
11/03/2025 – GD Announces Tougher Drug Policy
23/11/2023 鈥 Drug Arrest of Young Man Reignites Criticism of Georgia鈥檚 Drug Policy
30/07/2018 – Constitutional Court Bans Sanctions for Personal Use of Marijuana