The Fifth Meeting of State Commission Supporting Suppression of Distributing New Psychoactive Substances was held at the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia. The Commission is composed of the representatives from Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs and Ministry of Finance of Georgia. Expert-narcologist Zurab Sikharulidze also attended the Meeting. Zurab Sikharulidze presented the information available to him, to the members of the Commission concerning the existing situation on consumption of new psychoactive substances in the country. According to this information, since the entry into force of the Law of Georgia “On New Psychoactive Substances”, consumption of NPS has been obviously reduced. At the Meeting the agencies, within the scope of their competences, presented the information on fight against illicit traffic in new psychoactive substances in Georgia. It was stated that implementation of the relevant legislation is still being conducted effectively.
According to the information presented by MIA, absolute majority of the so-called “Bio Drugs” subjected to illicit traffic and seized by the agency, fall under the regulation scope of the classes of chemical compounds envisaged by the Law, what indicates the significant effectiveness of this institute. According to the Customs Department information of the Ministry of Finance, since the entry into force of the Law, the control over new psychoactive substances has been intensified and their import across the borders has been significantly reduced. Majority of these substances were imported in the form of parcels, what today happens very rarely in practice. Members of the State Commission also discussed the draft amendments to the Law of Georgia “On New Psychoactive Substances”, aiming at effective response towards the new challenges related to new psychoactive substances.
At the Meeting a new webpage of Drug Policy, created on the official website of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was presented, which shares the information on drug policy of the country, including the information on the activities of the State Commission. It should be noted that online access system to the list of new psychoactive substances operates on the webpage, what will contribute to the effectiveness of the fight against illicit traffic in NPS and towards coordinated work of various agencies in this regard.
