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Georgia (country) eases draconian law on cannabis use
Source: The Guardian
Georgia eases draconian law on cannabis use
After relaxation of rules on possession, campaigners await
judgment on punishment for cultivation
George Nelson in Tblisi
Tuesday 24 January 2017 07.00 GMT
Until recently, anyone caught with cannabis twice in 12 months in Georgia faced up to 14 years behind bars. Today you can carry enough for more than 200 joints, after the constitutional court in effect decriminalised possession of the drug.
The landmark ruling follows the case of 27-year-old Beka Tsikarishvili, who was arrested in 2013 with 65 grams of cannabis, which he said was for his own use. Facing a long sentence, he argued imprisonment was unlawful because it infringed his human dignity.
Surprisingly, the judges agreed and in October scrapped the incarceration law for buying, smoking, and carrying small amounts of marijuana, calling the law itself “unconstitutional.”
While possession of drugs with intent to sell still comes with a heavy penalty, the court declared that people who had previously been locked up for smoking marijuana could not be arrested again for using the drug. Activists say that more than 100 people imprisoned for possession have had their sentences commuted.
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After relaxation of rules on possession, campaigners await
judgment on punishment for cultivation
George Nelson in Tblisi
Tuesday 24 January 2017 07.00 GMT
Until recently, anyone caught with cannabis twice in 12 months in Georgia faced up to 14 years behind bars. Today you can carry enough for more than 200 joints, after the constitutional court in effect decriminalised possession of the drug.
The landmark ruling follows the case of 27-year-old Beka Tsikarishvili, who was arrested in 2013 with 65 grams of cannabis, which he said was for his own use. Facing a long sentence, he argued imprisonment was unlawful because it infringed his human dignity.
Surprisingly, the judges agreed and in October scrapped the incarceration law for buying, smoking, and carrying small amounts of marijuana, calling the law itself “unconstitutional.”
While possession of drugs with intent to sell still comes with a heavy penalty, the court declared that people who had previously been locked up for smoking marijuana could not be arrested again for using the drug. Activists say that more than 100 people imprisoned for possession have had their sentences commuted.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/24/georgia-eases-draconian-law-cannabis-landmark-ruling