Even before the world economy has stalled in the face of a pandemic of mers in Armenia serious scandal in the center of which was the American investor. The government literally “threw” him for millions of dollars. And the thing is — hemp, which this investor decided to grow in Armenia, and even agreed with the authorities. That’s just any mention of this plant causes in the Armenian society violent indignation. And the leadership of the Republic is now really do not want to lose support. In this case the citizens, condemning any form legalize, wouldn’t mind going for the “grass” to a neighbor or even go to Georgia, where it is already legalized. And this situation seems to suit everyone. The subtleties marijuanaville consensus in the Armenian society found “Tape.ru”.
of Warning
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the Sharp reversal
Up to $ 50 million of investment in the economy and about 10 thousand jobs such figures operated founder “America” Ruben Mkrtchyan at the meeting with Armenian journalists. His Armenian-American company came into contact with the authorities and suggested cooperation: investment in exchange for a license to produce industrial hemp.
These varieties of cannabis contain no cannabinoids do not possess narcotic properties, but very useful in textile, cosmetic and culinary industry. Of cannabis get, for example, hemp is a very sustainable fiber used to make marine ropes. This hemp wanted to grow Mkrtchyan, while promising to unfasten the government a lot of money in taxes. But the state’s most flagrantly cheated “America”, first agreeing to the proposal, and then destroying all the crops of this most harmless cannabis.
As told by Ruben Mkrtchyan, he has secured oral consent of the office of the Vice Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Ovinana, as well as officially, in may 2019, has signed a contract with the police of Armenia on protection of plantations. According to the contract, the businessman paid half a million drams (more than 3 thousand dollars) a month for daily 16-hour security, and he has made commitments through the appropriate arrangement of the plantations.
Then was imported seeds, carried out the planting — it went well. However, in August the same police, but from another control showed up at all three sites in different regions of Armenia, and destroyed crops as a whole moreover, according to Mkrtchyan, the whole story poured out in criminal case, and he lost about 170 thousand dollars.
In the office of the Deputy Prime Minister tried to distance itself from this story, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Apinan said that the cultivation of cannabis is illegal in Armenia, which means that the government simply could not endorse such a project. However, in response to “Amerika” published correspondence with the office Ovinana, the contract with the police and a number of documents showing that the business plan was very clearly outlined to all stakeholders, and that the Armenian authorities knew what was happening and what they are dealing with.
Most likely, a sharp change of mood can be explained by political reasons. The story of the “Americas” came another political crisis in Armenia. Few months, the team had tried all ways to get rid of the protege of the former government, the head of the constitutional court of Armenia Hrayr Tovmasyan, but he rested. For Pashinian is a matter of principle — from norms depends on the outcome of the case against ex-President Robert Kocharian accused of treason. For the sake of change in the Board power even planned referendum, which was held on April 5, but was postponed indefinitely due to quarantine measures.
It is noteworthy that expose the foreign investor was the lesser evil and reputational blow than to allow to grow safe hemp technical. And all because of the ambivalent attitude of Armenian society to marijuana. However, the other drugs.
During the Soviet era in Armenia and other southern republics of the technical hemp was grown on an industrial scale, and there is no problem in that nobody saw. In 1936 the Union under it was allocated 680 thousand hectares of land — about 80 percent of all hemp plantations in the world at that time. She was such an important crop that it was immortalized on the famous fountain “Friendship of peoples” at ENEA together with sunflower and wheat.
In Armenia hemp now grows everywhere, so here ideal conditions for it. Any cottager in any season can suddenly see the purpose of Bush-another marijuana — both technical and drug. But the average Armenian layman sees no difference, and from the point of view of the law, the difference between them. All varieties are strictly forbidden. So to the topic of marijuana, people are extremely careful when mentioning it in public, made to snort indignantly.
That, however, does not prevent citizens, especially the young, regularly consume, and cottagers to grow the bushes for her. The member of chamber of advocates, lawyer Ruzanna Avagimyan notes that timid attempts to put the country on a par with neighbouring Georgia, where drug marijuana is legalized, met very sharp negactive reaction.
And at the same time, for Armenians it is perfectly fine to visit for the weekend a neighboring country and eat anything you want, without breaking the law, and then quietly go back. Avagimyan indicates that the laws of each country reflect the needs and characteristics of its society, to adapt to it, and to seek among them the common denominator is useless. In Armenia to learn from the experience of Georgia is politically risky, legally unjustified, and in practice all meaningless.
Everyone in Armenia has a friend who knows how and where to get cannabis, and often absolutely free. But even if the “product” of good quality will have to pay the average price of 10 thousand drams ($20) for matchbox. Finally, due to climatic conditions hemp just grows under the feet, it so much that you can find goods on the road and eat at the same place. In only one week’s annual police RAID “Hemp-poppy 2019” was destroyed more than 11 tons of cannabis — so much of it.
To reconsider its attitude to cannabis in the medical field in other countries, in Armenia too, not in a hurry. Consultant for addictions, Ministry of health, acting Director of the National center of addiction treatment Suren Nazinyan sure that the “marijuana question” in the medicine, the theme swells from the side.
According to him, the idea to get medicines from cannabis is not something extraordinary. Medicine already has to deal with the psychoactive and narcotic substances. The only question the necessity of the use of cannabis. But it still raises doubts among the international community and has not been confirmed who, says the expert.
Anyway, the medicine in Armenia “consumer” — their research is negligible, new knowledge and medical practice are mostly imported from abroad. Therefore, the Armenian doctors will wait and see what you find there and how to solve them American/European/Israeli/Japanese counterparts, and only then begin to react.
a Grey area
For law enforcement agencies of Armenia, the issue with pot is also not necessary. No one is satisfied with rounding up young people in crowded bars on Friday and not nosing around in truckers. A former employee on condition of anonymity, explained, “the Tape.ru” the reasons for such a soft attitude of police to the grass. Two of them, and the first of them — the game is not worth it, too much work have to spend in tracking individuals.
“to obtain this information, you need to work your [intelligence] network, route guidance, signal some kind of clue. And you will not specifically go and hunt for it, if you know that in the end will catch some bastard with 0.2 grams, so he was given an administrative fine of a few dollars. It’s a waste of man-hours,” he says.
Another thing — sale, it provides for criminal prosecution, and to sales the police took it seriously. But the intent is still necessary to prove that complicates the issue. Find people who will to carry such volumes that you can attribute the sales, it is difficult, especially because “grass” in Armenia, the public, and if someone is going to have fun tonight, he won’t put in his pocket from all their stocks. And if so, to inform the police about this he will not be sure.
The Source “Tape.”ru explains that this complexity gave rise to another reason why the police do not want to mess with drug users. When the public Prosecutor Aghvan Hovsepyan the (2004-2013) it was agreed that once the police caught the person with the drug need to concurrently access a case of sale of illicit substances is unknown. According to the former strongman, then it got really absurd — this unknown distributor was looking for his seller and so on. Of course, such cases are practically not revealed.
In fact, the “grass” in Armenia is a gray area, and the average consumer once again pull will not, unless, of course, it is not directly doing the aiming. But it can find, say, a thief in law, who, for whatever reason, finally decided to put. Although in recent years the situation began to slowly change at the level of the relations of the state.
fishing expedition
Relaxation, that is, contains the psychoactive substance, marijuana, was repeatedly discussed at the highest levels of the authorities. For example, last year the speaker of Parliament of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan touched upon the subject in one of his interviews, noting that a total ban on it — “hypocrisy”, and legalization will solve many issues.
Vice-speaker of the Parliament Alain Simonian, and all, speaking of the translation of the scope of marijuana use in a legal plane, the interviewer asked another question: “do you think that the legalization of marijuana in Armenia has not legalized? The Deputy has noticed that “grass” in Armenia and so can be bought and sold, but according to the rules of the state and the people who develop this business.
Ex-COP reaffirmed “the Tape.ru” that the change of power in Armenia have changed the atmosphere, and law enforcement agencies react accordingly. Of course, we are not talking about direct instructions, or even hints, the fact that the topic of marijuana in the principle began to be discussed publicly at the highest levels.
“Early man, who in narrow circles advocated the legalization of cannabis, now is a great official. These new authorities are in General more liberal than the previous one, they are European of some kind, and people see it,” says the man.
In addition, the composition of the new authorities of Armenia there are people who haveing the reputation of cannabis lovers. This information is unsubstantiated, but rumors persistently published. For example, one Armenian journalist wrote an article where he said that Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avidan friends had used marijuana in the building of the Armenian government. In response, Deputy Prime Minister filed a lawsuit on protection of honor and dignity, the author has failed to substantiate his allegations, so the court ordered one million AMD. The case ended favorably for Ovinana, but “osadochek left.”
Avidan after the scandal with the “Americas” hinted that at least the question of technical hemp may return in the future, but the economy Ministry is studying the issue. Although it could just be an attempt to persuade the investor to hush up the scandal. The issue became public, was discussed in Parliament and formed their own camps of supporters and opponents. In particular, the Parliament raised the topic, the representative of the third largest faction of Armenia, and outside the walls of Parliament legalizing the production of industrial hemp are actively lobbying for a separate group of newsmakers, have a certain influence in the Armenian environment. In short, the case given the course item is included in the Armenian agenda.
