Summary
This document presents an overview of the drug situation in Georgia in 2018. The list below are those points selected by the authors as highlights:
- No consistent institutional mechanisms for primary prevention exist in the country
- Use of illicit drugs (other than cannabis), including new psychoactive substances, among youth is alarmingly high
- Prevalence of injecting drug use is one of the highest in the world
- Heroin, buprenorphine and home-made ephedra preparation are the major injection drugs
- There has been a remarkable increase in treatment and harm reduction service provision in recent years
- Significant decrease in street drug testing and imprisonment for drug related offences in recent years
- Remarkable shift in marijuana policy – move towards legalization of recreational use in a private space
- Lack of data on non-injection, non-problem drug use (club drugs, NPS)
- No drug monitoring infrastructure exists
- No early warning system in place.
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Georgia drug situation in 2018 summary
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Additional information
This English summary document presents major findings of the full-length report which is available in Georgian at www.altgeorgia.ge (https://altgeorgia.ge/ka/drug-situation-in-georgia)*. In the absence of a formal drug monitoring infrastructure and the national drug monitoring centre in Georgia, the original/parent report was developed as a collaborative effort by a group of dedicated professionals working in the field of psychoactive substance use and public health. The executive summary was compiled by Tamar Mgebrishvili, MA and David Otiashvili MD, PhD.
*Beselia A., Gegenava V., Kirtadze I., Mgebrishvili T., Otiashvili D., Razmadze M., Sturua L., Kutelia L., Javakhishvili J. (2019). The Drug Situation in Georgia 2018. Tbilisi, Georgia.
- Open access
- English