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DRUG POLICY /
Report
Drug Policy in Georgia - Trends in 2019
The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of the key trends, judicial practices, and statistics
for 2019 in the field of drug policy. With this report, the Human Rights Education and Monitoring
Center (EMC) continues to document systemic challenges in relation to drug policy issues, to
compare them with the previous years' practices and developments, and to facilitate fundamental
policy change.
It is a recognized problem, that the state authorities have not yet expressed a political will to
introduce human rights-based drug policies through fundamental legislative changes. Accordingly,
the current legislation remains a significant challenge for the criminal justice system. The legislation
in place, along with investigative and judicial practices still carry the risks of arbitrary and unfair use
of drug policy.
In 2019 no legislative changes were made in the field of drug policy. Work on the issue of drug policy
was not included in the governmental program for 2019-2020, developed during last year's changes in
the government, which further demonstrated the state's position regarding the absence of a drug
policy as a topic on the political agenda. To date, Drug Situation Monitoring Center, the main
function of which is to analyze information regarding the use of the substances, subject to special
control, has not been put in place, which is a commitment the government undertook in accordance
with the 2015 EU-Georgia Association Agenda Implementation National Action Plan.
The present report examines the state of affairs in the field of justice in relation to drug offenses, as
well as the practical application of the Constitutional Court's 2019 decision. With this report, EMC
assesses legal approaches to practical implications and presents statistical data from the past year on
drug policy in light of the stalled drug reform.
We remain hopeful that the trends and assessments presented in the report will help refresh political
discussions on the fundamental drug policy reform and introduce humane legal instruments in this
area.
