Nino Tatoshvili, criminal defence lawyer in Georgia
Medical & reproductive criminal law

Prescription and Controlled-Medicine Investigations

Prescription and controlled-medicine investigations: distinguish authorised clinical supply from drug offences and secure prescribing, stock and custody records.

English legal guideTbilisi · Georgia-wide
Short answer

Investigations concerning prescriptions or controlled medicines can involve practitioners, pharmacies, clinic management and patients, with dispensing records, authorisation and knowledge requiring separate examination.

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Clinical and criminal analysis

Start with duty, record and medical causation

Prescribing, dispensing, possession and diversion are different acts governed by medical and controlled-substance rules.

Clinical-legal question

Was there a genuine clinical purpose, who authored and used the prescription, and what quantity and movement are proved?

Independent expertise should identify the applicable specialty standard and limitations; it should not be asked to declare criminal guilt.

The unaltered clinical record matters first

Prescription registry data, patient chart, pharmacy logs, stock counts, CCTV, signatures, messages and laboratory identification.

01

Clinical chronology

Reconstruct condition, decisions, interventions and response.

02

Individual duty

Distinguish practitioner, clinic, agency and executive roles.

03

Causation

Test competing medical explanations and legally assessed harm.

Criminal Code articles to check

Articles that may enter the qualification

Article 260

Illegal narcotic-drug activity

Substance, legal schedule, quantity and the precise alleged act—purchase, storage, transport, transfer or sale—can materially change classification.

Read full Article 260 text on this page
Relevant Criminal Code wording

Read the relevant Criminal Code provisions

The panel below reproduces the available official English wording for convenient reading. Check the current Georgian text and the exact article part before relying on it, because later amendments may not yet appear in translation.

Article 260Illegal purchase and/or storage of drugs, their analogues, precursors or new psychoactive substances

1. Illegal purchase and/or storage of drugs, their analogues or precursors, –

shall be punished by imprisonment for up to six years.

2. The same act committed:

a) in large quantities;

b) by a group of persons with preliminary agreement;

c) using an official position;

d) repeatedly;

e) by a person who has previously been convicted of committing any of the intentional crimes provided for by this Chapter, –

shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of five to eight years.

3. The act provided for by paragraph 1 or 2 of this article committed:

a) in particularly large quantities;

b) by an organised group, –

shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of eight to twenty years or by life imprisonment.

Note:

1. Persons who voluntarily turn in drugs, their analogues, precursors, new psychoactive substances, psychotropic substances, their analogues or potent substances shall be released from criminal liability considered for the crimes defined in this Chapter, unless there are elements of another offence in their actions.

2. For the purposes of this Chapter, voluntary turning in shall mean only such actions when a person, before the commencement of investigation declared in writing or through any technical means of communication, about the intention to deliver drugs, their analogues, precursors, new psychoactive substances, psychotropic substances, their analogues or potent substances and actively assists in their seizure.

3. For committing an act provided for by this article, a legal person shall be punished by liquidation or deprivation of the right to carry out activities and a fine.

4. Paragraph 1 of this article shall apply to any quantity of a new psychoactive substance.

5. The aggravating circumstances provided for by paragraphs 2(a) and 3(a) of this article shall not apply to new psychoactive substances.

6. This Chapter shall also apply to narcotic drugs, namely to cannabis plant and marijuana, defined in rows 73 and 92 of the list ‘Narcotic Drugs’ defined in the table of Annex No 2 to the Law of Georgia on Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, Precursors and Narcological Assistance.

The consolidated official source is listed in the source section at the end of this guide.

First controlled step

Reconcile patient, prescription and inventory records before interviews or internal blame.

Sources & legislation

Primary sources for this guide

Before acting, compare this guide with the current Georgian text and the exact document served in the case. The official English translation may not include the latest amendment.

Official consolidated Criminal Code — current text & PDFLaw on Health CareLaw on Patient Rights
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