The legal regime of cannabis in Georgia
The legal regime connected with cannabis in Georgia is divided into two levels, and this division must be seen at the outset. On the one hand, the consumption of cannabis is decriminalized: its unlawful acquisition, storage and consumption in small quantity constitute an administrative offence, not a crime. On the other hand, the cultivation of cannabis — sowing and growing — is prohibited in any case, and a separate licensing regime that would regulate this market does not exist in Georgian law. This page explains what liability is provided by the Code of Administrative Offences, which actions are punished, and how the procedure for establishing the fact of consumption works.
The general regime and the special status of cannabis
The general norm of the Code of Administrative Offences provides that the unlawful preparation, acquisition, storage, transportation, dispatch of a narcotic drug, its analogue or precursor in small quantity, and/or the consumption of a narcotic drug or new psychoactive substance without a doctor's prescription, as well as evading examination to establish the fact of consumption, entail a fine of 500 to 2 000 GEL or administrative detention for up to 60 days. This norm applies to all narcotic drugs except plant cannabis and marijuana, for which the code contains a special, standalone norm.
The unlawful acquisition, storage, transportation or dispatch of plant cannabis or marijuana in small quantity entails a fine of 500 GEL. The fines increase with the location of consumption: consumption in a building of any designation, other than a privately owned dwelling or other building not used for economic activity, entails a fine of 500 to 1 000 GEL, and when committed repeatedly, 1 000 to 1 500 GEL. Consumption in the street, a yard, a stadium, a square, a park, a court, an airport, a medical or pharmaceutical facility, a cinema, a theatre, a cafe, a restaurant, public transport or another public space is punished by a fine of 800 to 1 200 GEL, and repeatedly, 1 200 to 1 500 GEL.
The norms are especially strict in the following cases: consumption or being under the influence in the presence of a minor, in educational institutions and on their territory, as well as at events intended for persons under 18 or within a radius of 150 metres of it, entails a fine of 1 000 to 1 500 GEL, and repeatedly, 1 500 to 2 000 GEL. Consumption or being under influence while performing official duties, and consumption in a military unit, entail 1 000 to 1 500 GEL, and repeatedly, 1 500 to 2 000 GEL. Consumption by a person under 18 is punished by 500 to 1 000 GEL, and repeatedly, 1 000 to 1 500 GEL.
A separate norm concerns establishments: failure to take measures to prevent the fact of consumption or of being under influence while performing official duties entails a fine on the establishment of 1 500 GEL, and when committed repeatedly, 2 000 GEL. An establishment is obliged not to allow consumption, upon evident signs of the offence immediately to prevent it, and to make the person under influence cease official activity.
The prohibition of cultivation
The unlawful sowing, growing or cultivation in small quantity of a plant containing a narcotic drug, as well as the unlawful acquisition, storage, transportation, dispatch, transfer without material benefit or sale of seed suitable for growing such a plant, entail for a natural person a fine of 500 to 5 000 GEL with confiscation of the subject of the offence, or administrative detention for up to 60 days with confiscation; for a legal person, a fine of 1 000 to 10 000 GEL with confiscation. When committed repeatedly, a natural person is fined 1 000 to 6 000 GEL with confiscation or detained from 10 to 60 days with confiscation, and a legal person is fined 2 000 to 12 000 GEL with confiscation. Under the code, this plant includes plant cannabis.
Establishing consumption and exemption
The procedural norms also matter. Where a sufficient ground exists to suppose that a person consumed a narcotic drug without a prescription, a police officer may ensure the person's examination; the person may refuse transfer to the forensic-criminalistics department, but in that case must, no later than 4 hours from the issuance of the referral, voluntarily undergo laboratory testing there or at the National Bureau of Forensic Expertise named after Levan Samkharauli. Where the fact is established, the person has the right, within 10 calendar days, to conduct an alternative laboratory examination of the sealed control sample of the biological material.
The exempting norm is especially significant: a person who voluntarily surrenders a narcotic drug in small quantity, or who voluntarily turns to a medical institution for assistance, is released from the administrative liability provided by these articles. At the same time, the court, in the manner established by the law on combating drug crime, deprives the person of the rights specified in that law.
What conclusions follow
Cannabis law in Georgia is precisely demarcated: consumption and possession in small quantity — administrative liability with fixed fines; cultivation and any commercial activity — prohibited and punishable, including for legal persons. A licensed market does not exist, so any claim of legal growing lacks a legal basis. If your case touches this sphere, the exact qualification — consumption, possession or cultivation — determines the whole outcome, and involving an experienced lawyer is essential. Legal.ge.