Georgia's anti-drug policy will be based on the experience of European countries
Within the framework of the working visit, the parties are discussing the establishment of an observatory on illicit drug use and illicit trafficking in Georgia, which is important for European integration and serves as a particularly useful tool for establishing a balanced, transparent, and modern anti-drug policy in Georgia.
The Interagency Council, headed by the Minister of Justice, is mandated by law to establish such an observatory in Georgia by the end of the current year. The observatory will collect and evaluate information related to the illicit use of substances subject to special control in the country, perform analysis and correct interpretation of this information, and introduce evidence-based scientific and practical methodologies. In European states, decision-makers are guided by documents created as a result of the correct interpretation of evidence and information regarding the drug situation in the country collected by national observatories when formulating anti-drug policy, which must be balanced (prevention, repression, treatment, education, harm reduction, etc.).
The visit includes discussions on the measures necessary for the establishment of the Georgian observatory, the agency under whose auspices such a structure could function, and the methods of its operation and cooperation with various ministries, so that the observatory serves as a maximally effective tool for policy-makers and agencies.
To date, the observatories of France and the Czech Republic are considered the most successful models of national observatories within the European Union.
