Georgia Court Decriminalizes Marijuana
A Georgia (the country) court has decriminalized the personal possession of marijuana.
The court ruled that the law prohibiting marijuana possession is an infringement of human rights and is unconstitutional. The ruling doesn’t allow for marijuana to be sold, but does allow for it to be possessed for personal use.Prior to the ruling someone caught possessing even small amounts of marijuana twice in one year could face up to 14 years in prison.
The historic ruling comes on a case brought forth by 27-year-old Beka Tsikarishvili, who was arrested in 2013 with 65 grams of cannabis. Tsikarishvii successful argued that the law making it illegal to possess the marijuana was an infringement on his human dignity. Not only does the ruling decriminalize marijuana, it has led to the commutations of dozens of individuals charged with marijuana possession. Courts in the country are also expected to soon consider whether the laws regarding cultivating and distributing marijuana are also too harsh.
Although the personal possess of marijuana is now decriminalized with this ruling, people still face a fine of 500 lari ($185) if they are found with THC in their urine.