Marijuana not be cultivated in Georgia

Georgia's government will withdraw its marijuana export bill from parliament, which would have allowed marijuana cultivation for the export of medical and cosmetic cannabis products, the republic's Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze said after meeting with Patriarch Ilia II.

Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze vowed that marijuana cultivation for export would have been strongly regulated and administered, Agenda.ge reported.

Founder of the Georgian Dream party, former Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili said that if the Patriarchate persuaded the government of the possible negative effects of the initiative the bill would be withdrawn from the legislative body.

Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs presented the marijuana export bill in early September, with top state figures claiming that the export would have brought one billion and perhaps more income into the state budget.