Tag Archives: Drug Policy

Following a wave of church-led protests, the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party has decided to backtrack on the draft bill envisaging legalization of medical marijuana cultivation and production for export purposes. Speaking to reporters on September 16, Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze said the GDDG would not take “a hasty” decision …

Responding to Civil.ge query, the Georgian Interior Ministry has confirmed that the government is considering licensing of cultivation and production of medical cannabis for export, stressing that “the sale of marijuana inside the country will remain a criminal offense.” The Ministry also said that it drafted legislative amendments that “puts …

Op-ed by Michel Kazatchkine, former Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis, and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy. The Parliament of Georgia is currently engaged in a promising debate to reform its drug laws, possibly by ending the criminalization of drug use …

Two leading Georgian civil society organizations – the Georgian Young Lawyers Association and the Human Rights Monitoring Center – issued an assessment of May 12 police raids at Tbilisi’s top music clubs – Bassiani and Cafe Gallery – as well as the legality of dispersing the rally that followed the …

On May 18, Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia reported to the Parliament at the request of the European Georgia minority group, focusing on May 13 drug raids on Tbilisi’s top music clubs, as well as on reforms planned in the Ministry. In his 40-minute statement Minister Gakharia stressed the necessity of …

by Jaba Devdariani. For decades now, socially and politically active Georgians have been waiting – even hoping – for the apocalypse. For the country to go forward, its morbid addiction to the final showdown must end. Ever since the Soviet troops have massacred and gassed pro-independence supporters here on 9 …

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has launched an investigation into calls for violence by the Georgian National Unity, a Tbilisi-based group that positions itself as a “fascist” and “right wing national-socialist” organization. The police announcement follows the May 13 remarks of Giorgi Chelidze, the leader of the organization, voiced …

by William Dunbar On Friday night of 11 to 12 May, hundreds of riot police descended on two of Tbilisi’s most famous nightclubs. Brandishing machine guns and dressed in paramilitary regalia, the police terrorized the clubbers at Café Gallery and Bassiani, dragging dozens of revelers off the dance floor and …

Things got tense following the day of peaceful protest of thousands of mostly young people protesting the police crackdown on their favorite music clubs. Nationalist hardliners, mobilized through social media have gathered on a counter-rally, decrying what they saw as anti-Georgian and decadent conduct of their opponents. They have voiced …

Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia and leaders of the White Noise movement agreed at their meeting earlier today to set up two working groups – one on the drug policy reform and another on scrutinizing the May 12 raid on Tbilisi’s top music clubs. Davit Subeliani, one of the leaders of …

The government’s drug policy should be “much more liberal,” and the police should be “dealing with drug traffickers” rather than users and petty dealers, President Giorgi Margvelashvili said today, just hours after two opposing rallies faced off in the center of Tbilisi. “In the last few days, we witnessed a …

Several hundred protesters, who rallied against police raids on Tbilisi’s top music clubs, have cleared the Rustaveli avenue after nearly six hour-long standoff with a group of hardline nationalists and conservatives. The rally, convened in front of the Parliament building at 3 pm yesterday, proceeded peacefully in the initial hours, …

The Georgian Orthodox Patriarchate has issued a statement on Tbilisi protests. “Our compatriots have been appalled by recent developments in Tbilisi. Although countering drug trade is essential for us, the government and the entire population, questions have been raised on the police operation in certain segments of the society (although, …

Below is a statement of the Prime Minister of Georgia, Giorgi Kvirikashvili, issued at 9 pm Tbilisi time. “I would like to comment on the developments in Tbilisi over the last two days. Yesterday and from today morning we have been having active discussions in the team on what has …

Tense standoff on Rustaveli avenue, as hard-line nationalists and conservatives rally against the crowd that has gathered in front of the old Parliament building to protest police raids on Tbilisi’s top music clubs. The counter-rally participants reportedly chant violent slogans against what they see as “drug use promotion” and “anti-Georgian” …

The drug trade suspects arrested in a double operation in Tbilisi’s Bassiani and Café Gallery clubs were apprehended by the authorities outside club premises and well before the police operation, Public Defender Nino Lomjaria told journalists on May 12, citing suspects’ personal accounts. “We have met all the detainees suspected …

Protesters gathered in thousands at the old Parliament building in Tbilisi at 15:00 to rally against what they see as police brutality and an assault on their rights. No political leaders were welcome at the event. While requests for the government responsibility were voiced, there were no specific coherent demands …

Police officers raided two leading Tbilisi-based clubs Bassiani and Cafe Gallery in the early hours of May 12, allegedly following the leads regarding the dealing and use of club drugs. The move, as well as the police’s heavy handed tactics, caused outcry among rights groups and opposition parties, with thousands …

Drug raids in two leading clubs in Tbilisi in the early hours of 12 May and the police’s heavy handed tactics, caused outcry among rights groups and drug policy activists, prompting calls for resignation of Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili and Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia. The White Noise Movement, one one …