Georgia's drug crackdown doubles the caseload and fills the prisons
The Interior Ministry registered 5,598 drug crimes in 2024, 10,475 in 2025 and 7,533 in the first half of 2026; more than half were purchase or possession under Article 260. The Prosecutor General's Office opened 119 drug cases against Russian citizens in 2024, 196 in 2025 and 234 in the first nine months of 2026.
🇬🇪 Georgia
The Interior Ministry registered 5,598 drug crimes in 2024, 10,475 in 2025 and 7,533 in the first half of 2026; more than half were purchase or possession under Article 260. The Prosecutor General’s Office opened 119 drug cases against Russian citizens in 2024, 196 in 2025 and 234 in the first nine months of 2026. Georgia’s prisons held 12,344 people in June 2026, a 43% rise in eighteen months; in one case a woman caught with a few grams of marijuana received two years, deportation and a 20-year entry ban, while a man caught with about 60 grams was sentenced to three years.[1]
Sources
- Russian emigrants thought marijuana use was safe in Georgia. Now some are facing years behind bars. (16 October 2026). Meduza. Interior Ministry drug crimes 5,598 (2024), 10,475 (2025), 7,533 (H1 2026); more than half under Article 260; Prosecutor General's Office cases against Russian citizens 119/196/234; prisons 12,344 in June 2026, +43% in 18 months; individual 4–9.5 g and 60 g cases..