Parliament is reviewing, under an accelerated procedure, a legislative package that, once enacted, will make the wholesale distribution and import of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as the provision of opioid substitution therapy, the exclusive prerogative of the state or legal entities established by the state.
All three readings and the adoption of the legislative package are planned to take place during this week’s extraordinary sessions.
According to the draft submitted to Parliament, the right to import narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances will be granted only to legal entities established by the state or by entities under state control.
The draft also authorizes the Ministry of Health to grant, if necessary, the right to import such substances to other legal entities.
As for opioid substitution therapy, the authority to provide such treatment will rest solely with the state.
Under the proposed legislation, wholesale distributors of pharmaceutical products subject to special control must, by March 1, 2026, transfer their existing stocks of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to a state-established entity for compensation.
The Ministry of Health and institutions providing opioid substitution therapy will be required to take necessary measures by March 1, 2026, to ensure the continuity of treatment that has already been initiated or is ongoing.
According to the same draft, legal entities engaged in the wholesale distribution of pharmaceutical products under special control — if established by the state or by a legal entity founded or managed by the state — will be exempt from the requirement to obtain the relevant permit until January 1, 2029.
The authors and initiators of the draft law are Members of Parliament from Georgian Dream and People's Power.
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