New amendments on decriminalising soft drugs were registered in the Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday.
Under current legislation, possession of any drugs carries criminal liability.
A group of lawmakers have proposed to replace it with administrative liability for illegal possession of small quantities of cannabis, its parts, oil, resin, extracts or tinctures, without the intention to distribute.
The amount of these substances that would be considered small would be defined in guidelines confirmed by the Health Ministry.
Under the proposed amendments, people found in possession of small quantities of soft drugs would be warned or be issued a fine ranging from 30 to 250 euros. Repeated offenses would carry fines from 250 to 400 euros.
The draft amendments also stipulate that people found in possession of soft drugs could be ordered to enroll in courses on alcoholism and drug addiction prevention.
People who voluntarily turn to a healthcare facility for medical assistance or to state institutions to surrender illicitly produced, processed, acquired, possessed, stored, transported or delivered cannabis would be exempted from administrative liability.
If adopted by the parliament, Seimas, the amendments would enter into force in July.
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