The Constitutional Court of Georgia granted the claim of the representative of the opposition party and thus abolished the criminal punishment for the use of marijuana. Such a decision was made on Thursday, November 30.
The court explained that the use of cannabis and marijuana no longer falls under the article of the criminal code “the illegal manufacture, purchase, storage in small volumes for personal use or illegal consumption without the appointment of a doctor of narcotic drugs, their analogues or precursors.”
The decision was made in connection with the fact that, as the plaintiff has proved, marijuana can be used for medical purposes as well as for entertainment, since, as Article 16 of the Georgian Constitution says, “everyone has the right of free development of his personality”, accordingly citizens have the right to choose a suitable form of unloading and rest.
As a result, the court found that “in case of individual use, punishment can not be considered a suitable means for protecting public order.”
The agency recalls that in July 2017 the Constitutional Court of Georgia recognized an unconstitutional provision that prohibited the sowing or cultivation of small quantities of marijuana for personal use.
Meanwhile, in the country, only according to official data, there are 29 drug addicts for every 10 thousand inhabitants, and only 11.5% of them are being treated.
