Positive drug test: administrative liability for use: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Qualification (which substance? driving?): use (other than cannabis) without a doctor's prescription carries a fine of 500 to 2,000 lari or arrest for up to 60 days (CAO, Art. 45). Marijuana: a small quantity of marijuana carries a fine of 500 lari (CAO, Art. 45¹); smoking in a public place carries a fine of 800 to 1,200 lari (CAO, Art. 45¹); for adults, “use” means the act of smoking itself (a test result is decisive only for minors); in a private residence it is not punishable (CAO, Art. 45¹). Driving: driving under drugs is immediately a crime (Criminal Code, Art. 276).
2. Refusing a test is a separate offence, not a way out: evading a check is an independent offence with the same penalty (a fine of 500 to 2,000 lari or arrest for up to 60 days); proving the use itself is not required (CAO, Art. 45). A person may refuse referral, but then, within 4 hours of the referral being issued, they may submit a sample themselves (to the MIA or the Samkharauli Forensic Bureau) (CAO, Art. 45); failure to do so, or submission in breach of the procedure, counts as evasion (CAO, Art. 45).
3. Legality of the test and defence: a referral for a test may be issued only on sufficient grounds (CAO, Art. 45); after a positive result, there are 10 calendar days to request an alternative examination of the control sample (CAO, Art. 45).
4. Court: cases under Art. 45 and Art. 45¹ are heard by the district court within 3 days (CAO, Art. 262); an appeal must be filed within 10 days of delivery (CAO, Art. 273).
5. Deprivation of rights (the main burden): the court must deprive the person of the right to drive for 3 years, and of the right to teach, to hold public office and to hold a weapons licence for 5 years (Law on Combating Drug Crime, Art. 3); it may also deprive the person of the right to practise medicine or law, and of the right to stand for election, for up to 5 years (Law on Combating Drug Crime, Art. 3); the period runs from the final decision in the case (Law on Combating Drug Crime, Art. 5).
6. Boundary with the Criminal Code: repeat use by a person already punished under Art. 45 or para. 1 of Art. 45¹ is a crime (Criminal Code, Art. 273); after a fine, the person is considered punished for 1 year (CAO, Art. 39); cannabis use does not fall under this article (Criminal Code, Art. 273). A way out: voluntarily seeking medical help, or handing in a small quantity, releases the person from liability (CAO, Art. 45).
7. Where to apply: the police, then the MIA laboratory or the Samkharauli Forensic Bureau, then the district court and the Court of Appeal.
8. Evidence: the referral with the time of issue, laboratory results, an alternative analysis, a doctor's prescription.
9. Pitfalls: refusing the test does not help, since evasion is punished the same as use; deprivation of rights by the court follows even without driving; a repeat within a year of a fine is already a criminal case.

Be sure to check

• the penalty for use (fine or administrative arrest) and that refusing a test is punished in the same way
• the 4-hour window to submit a sample yourself, and the 10-day right to an alternative examination
• mandatory deprivation of rights by the court (driving, teaching, public office, weapons)
• the special regime for marijuana (possession of a small quantity, public smoking, private residence)
• repeat use after a penalty is a criminal offence (Criminal Code, Art. 273)