A few years ago, a draft law was introduced that would have established cannabis plantations across Georgia. Now, the same people are saying that the law should become the strictest. Therefore, I believe that with this package of bills, the government is creating additional brackets to intensify punitive measures," said Nugzar Tsiklauri, one of the leaders of the "Coalition for Change," during an interview on "PalitraNews" program "Day's Newsroom."

He stated that the changes announced by the "Georgian Dream" regarding drug policy are "political hypocrisy."

"We should say directly that this is political hypocrisy. The government probably thinks we have 'Silknet's' memory and don't remember their steps regarding drug policy. The same people, collective Kobakhidzes and Ivanishvili's, were convincing us of the benefits of establishing cannabis plantations in Georgia. They seemed to be planning to clear all other crops to plant 'Plan's' plantations. Now, the same people are talking about how the law should be the strictest. Therefore, based on the fact that this package of bills, especially under the conditions where there is no talk of full rehabilitation and what has been announced is only and solely punitive measures, I believe that the government is creating additional brackets to impose even more punitive measures against people with different views, protesters, with new punitive actions."

"The legislation is already strict enough to detain people who distribute drugs. But what do we see? The stick always breaks on the users and not the so-called drug dealers, who sell this drug and death. We know that such places exist, and the government is not responding to prevent death centers from existing in the country. Therefore, I am deeply convinced that, given their position five years ago, when they planned to establish cannabis plantations across Georgia, these steps, without a systemic vision of rehabilitation, aim solely to acquire new punitive tools to suppress those who disagree with them, those who do not agree with their proposals," Tsiklauri stated.

Additionally, Tsiklauri spoke about the coordination of opposition parties around Salome Zourabichvili and said that it is only about uniting efforts on specific issues, not about uniting the parties.

"As for the content of the consultations, this is about uniting efforts on specific issues. This is not a merger of parties or the foundation of an electoral bloc. It’s about political parties that passed the electoral threshold or those that did not participate in the elections, NGOs — all those who share the common interest of ensuring that Georgia’s civilizational choice towards Europe, the United States, and the free world is protected, uniting their efforts. From this point of view, I believe this is not a bad decision. On the contrary, it will give more energy to the protest movement in the country," Nugzar Tsiklauri said.

Regarding the ongoing protests in the country, Nugzar Tsiklauri compares the current situation to a volcano and says, "As soon as political events demand it, hundreds of thousands of people will appear on Rustaveli."

"Regarding the government, I would not count the heads, but we can clearly see that they do nothing except for this. 'Georgian Dream' wants to say that this process is heading toward decadence and will fade away, but that is not the case. Considering that for 110 days, people have been coming out on the central avenue of the city, and the avenue is blocked, we should count not the people on Rustaveli, but the political volcano in the hearts of the people that fuels these protests. When there are 50 political prisoners in jail, hundreds and thousands of people are fined, humiliated, and insulted, it is impossible to talk about the fading of this protest. As soon as political events demand it, hundreds of thousands of people will appear. Georgia, Tbilisi, is like a crater," Tsiklauri concluded.