marijuana

Organizers say it is not right to punish marijuana use tougher than rape. (DFWatch.)

TBILISI, DFWatch–More than a thousand people gathered in front of the old parliament building in Tbilisi on Sunday to demand the decriminalization of marijuana.

Under current legislation it is illegal to use or sell marijuana and other soft drugs.

Organizers of the rally say it is not right to punish marijuana use tougher than rape.

Sunday’s event gathered many people, including well-known singers and band members, journalists, political activists, representatives of non-governmental organization, students and others.

One of the major demands people had was to categorize marijuana separate from other drugs which should remain illegal.

“Stop sending people to Jail for smoking weed”, “I demand decriminalization of marijuana”, “prohibit drugs, which kill”, some of the posters read.

Many participants were symbolically dressed in green, and wore some green accessorize and t-shirts with marijuana pattern printed on. In the midst of the rally almost all the participants threw paper planes into the air.

As reported by DF Watch, there is already a process in parliament to decriminalize marijuana, and Sunday’s protest was therefore mostly a way to keep up the pressure on the politicians.