Gaining ground the depenalisation of cannabis

by Fabiana Settanni - 2012.10.19

France appears divided on cannabis. Again. The proposal of the French Education Minister Vicent Peillon to decriminalize the use of marijuana raised a dust and was strongly criticized: on the one side, by the right opposition, completely loyal to the prohibitionist line; on the other side, by the same body of the government, that immediately led the unwise Minister to the “mea culpa”, reaffirming at the same time “zero tolerance” against soft drugs – a notion already expressed by François Hollande in the election campaign.



Once again, however, the debate seems to limit to the mere political-ideological dispute, thus losing sight of facts which absolutely reject the over 40 years of French prohibitionist line. The law passed in 1970 forbidding drugs consumption, with sanctions up to 1 year in prison and to €3.750 fines drew a blank. At least, so say the facts. In France, there is the highest rate of cannabis consumption in Europe: 13.4 million France citizens used it at least once in their life. Among them, the number of very young consumers is constantly increasing. This is confirmed by the fact that among teenagers aged 15-17, 40% do not disdain a joint periodically against a European average of 17%.



This legislation is as severe as ineffective. Moreover, it has the disadvantage of being one of the major causes behind overcrowding in France prisons. Just think that more than 1 prisoner out of 6 is behind bars for being caught in possession of a minimum quantity of marijuana.



Hence the anti-prohibitionist campaign launched by outstanding experts and scholars in the field of addictions, including sociologist Anne Copel, who had already signed a manifesto titled “Pour un autre politique des addictions”. An initiative that has also the support of magistrates and civil servants, who see in soft drugs decriminalization, if not in their legalization, the solution to readdress the commitment of law enforcement agencies and of justice on major public interest objectives, such as the fight against drug trafficking, rather than the fight against individual consumers (currently overwhelming France’s judiciary and prison system).



