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Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office registered more than 200 drug-related crimes involving Russian citizens in the first nine months of 2026, according to Meduza. The cases follow 2025 changes that made some marijuana-related offenses punishable by prison; one Russian emigrant is serving a two-year sentence after a case involving marijuana and alleged assistance with distribution.
Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office registered more than 200 drug-related crimes involving Russian citizens in the first nine months of 2026, according to a report by Meduza, as some Russian emigrants face prison under drug laws tightened in 2025. One woman, Russian musician Masha Ova, is serving a two-year sentence after police searched her Tbilisi apartment and found marijuana, her friend and lawyer told the outlet.
Ova’s friend Kristina, whose name was changed in the report, said Ova left Russia for India in 2022 after the war against Ukraine began and moved to Georgia in 2023. She worked at a Tbilisi tattoo studio and performed with several rock bands. In early May 2026, she disappeared; a court-appointed lawyer later told a friend that she had been detained.
According to Kristina, police found four grams of marijuana in Ova’s apartment. Her lawyer, David Lagadze, told Meduza that the case file later recorded 9.5 grams. He said Ova chose not to challenge that amount because she did not want to worsen her situation. Kristina described Ova as someone who sometimes bought marijuana for friends and took a cut. She said Ova admitted guilt.
Lagadze said police also seized scales bearing traces of narcotic substances. He told Meduza that in such cases courts find a person guilty of aiding distribution regardless of the amount of drugs seized. That is his description of how the cases are handled; the report does not provide a court ruling setting out the evidence or reasoning in Ova’s case.
How the New Penalties Change Exposure
The change in Georgia’s law can expose people to prison sentences for conduct that previously carried less severe penalties. Under the earlier provision, acquiring, possessing or transporting a large quantity of marijuana could bring a fine, community service or up to two years in prison. Under the revised Article 260, the same conduct carries five to eight years, according to Meduza’s account of the law.
The report says the 2025 amendments also created a separate offense for aiding distribution. That matters to emigrants and visitors who may assume that public use or relatively common cannabis use means possession and sharing carry little legal risk. Georgia’s rules distinguish between small quantities, which are handled under its Administrative Offenses Code, and larger quantities, which can trigger criminal charges. The case illustrates how disputed amounts and allegations of distribution can affect a person’s exposure to prosecution.
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Georgia’s 2025 Drug-Law Changes
Georgia’s Constitutional Court had eased penalties for marijuana-related offenses over the preceding decade. In 2015, it considered the case of Beka Tsikarishvili, who faced seven to 14 years in prison after police found 69 grams of marijuana that he said was for personal use. The supplied report says later amendments changed the framework and allowed prison sentences again for acquiring, possessing or growing large amounts for personal use.
The 2025 changes came in two stages. In April, lawmakers tightened rules for certain small-quantity drug offenses under Article 45 of the Administrative Offenses Code, including penalties for refusing a drug test. In July, they removed the marijuana-specific Article 273(1) from the Criminal Code and shifted marijuana-related criminal offenses to Article 260, which carries harsher penalties. The new framework defines a small amount of dried marijuana as up to five grams and a large amount as five to 70 grams; amounts above that are classed as especially large.
Georgian Dream officials defended the changes by citing what they described as the harmful effects of hybrid cannabis strains. The Social Justice Center, a Georgian human rights organization, said a major consequence was restoring the possibility of imprisonment for large-quantity marijuana possession and cultivation for personal use. These are the authorities’ and organization’s stated positions, rather than independent findings presented in the report.
“In such cases, Georgian courts already find a person guilty of aiding distribution, regardless of the amount of drugs seized from them.”
— David Lagadze, Ova’s lawyer, speaking to Meduza
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Disputed Amounts and Case Evidence
The account leaves important details unresolved. Ova’s friend said police found four grams of marijuana, while her lawyer said the case file listed 9.5 grams; the report says Ova did not contest the higher figure. The material provided does not include the full court judgment, the prosecution’s detailed evidence, or an independent account of the search.
The report gives a total of more than 200 drug-related crimes registered by the Prosecutor General’s Office involving Russian citizens during the first nine months of 2026. It does not break down those cases by substance, charge, outcome or sentence. It is therefore unclear how many involved marijuana, how many led to convictions, or how many people remain in detention or prison. The figure is a count of registered crimes, not a stated number of people sentenced.
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Court Cases Under the Revised Code
Ova is serving her two-year sentence in a women’s prison in Rustavi, according to the report. The supplied material does not say whether she plans to appeal or whether further proceedings are scheduled. The broader cases involving Russian citizens may clarify how Georgian authorities and courts apply the revised possession and aiding-distribution provisions, but no specific next hearing or official update is identified.
Readers should distinguish the law’s stated quantity thresholds from the facts alleged in any individual case. The report describes a fast-changing legal environment and cases still developing; it does not establish how every person charged under the revised code will be treated.
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Key Questions
Georgia’s Prosecutor General’s Office registered more than 200 in the first nine months of 2026, according to Meduza. The report does not state how many involved marijuana or resulted in prison sentences.
What sentence is Masha Ova serving?
Ova is serving a two-year sentence in a women’s prison in Rustavi, according to her friend and lawyer as quoted by Meduza.
What changed in Georgia’s marijuana laws?
In 2025, lawmakers moved marijuana-related criminal offenses to Article 260, which Meduza says carries harsher penalties, and created a separate offense for aiding distribution. Large-quantity possession that previously could carry up to two years can now carry five to eight years.
What amount of marijuana was reportedly found in Ova’s case?
Her friend said police found four grams. Her lawyer said the case file listed 9.5 grams and that Ova chose not to challenge the figure. The report does not include the full court record.
Does the report show that all Russian emigrants face prison?
No. It reports more than 200 registered drug-related crimes involving Russian citizens and describes some people serving time. It does not say that every person recorded in the figure was convicted or imprisoned.
Source: rss
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