Civil society activists welcomes the parliament’s decision to ease back on the world’s most restrictive on-street drug-testing program – but they say full decriminalization would be the real solution.
The drug laws of the Republic of Georgia are very harsh, even by comparison with other countries in the region. The government launched its war on drugs in 2006; and since than, tens of thousands of people have been stopped every year by policemen, and forced to provide urine samples for drug-testing. People can be stopped for testing, even without any reasonable suspicion of using drugs. If the test proves positive, the offender has to pay a fine, and if they re-offend, they face a prison sentence. Young people spend years in prison for possessing very small amounts of illegal drugs. This system is not only brutal, costly, and ineffective, but a constant source of corruption, and blocks access to effective treatment and harm reduction programs.
Civil society, including the communities of drug users, have been fighting against repressive drug laws for a long time. The current government has decided to take cautious steps towards reforming its drug laws. Last year, they abolished a law which obliged medical staff to report overdose victims to the police. This week, at an international conference organised in Tbilisi by the Eurasian Harm Reduction Network, the Minister of Health announced the intention to amend the law, limiting the scope of mandatory drug testing on the streets. The new regulation (Interior Ministry Ordinance №725) came into force on Thursday, and only permits policemen to force people to undergo drug-testing if the following conditions are fulfilled: a) a law enforcement official has witnessed an illegal action (eg. drug use); b) there is enough reason to suggest a person is under the influence of drugs; c) police have obtained information, either through investigation or information received, that the person has illegally used drugs.
Watch our video from 2008 about drug testing in Georgia: Looking for an Alternative – The Drug Policy Situation in Georgia
The new ministerial ordinance regulates the procedure for drug testing. If the law enforcement representative claims to have witnessed a breach of the law, the suspect can undergo testing voluntarily. If the person should refuse, a sample may be obtained by force. The suspect can contest this action in court, where s/he also has the option of disputing the test results.
Click on the picture below to read a report co-authored by Dato Otashvili, Peter Sarosi and Gabor Somogyi about drug policies in Georgia!
Click on the picture below to read a report co-authored by Dato Otashvili, Peter Sarosi and Gabor Somogyi about drug policies in Georgia!
The Drugreporter team, attending the Tbilisi conference, interviewed several government officials and civil society activists about Georgian drug policies. Although this reform does not put an end to the practice of mandatory drug testing in Georgia, civil society is cautiously hopeful that it means the beginning of the end of an unjust and inhumane system. Our movie on the Tbilisi conference is coming soon!
Peter Sarosi
