France: 5.9 tonnes of cannabis and 6,000 plants seized in October

Edito. The inventory is not exhaustive, and only includes cases hastily picked up in the press. But the tally is already impressive.

In October, at least 5.9 tonnes and 6,000 cannabis plants were seized. In terms of tonnes, the arrests of numerous convoys «crossing» France quickly raised the balance: 2.3 tonnes in Charente-Maritime, 1.2 tonnes in Loiret, 600 kg in 2 seizures on the A9, 373 kg in Landes.

For the rest, the 6,000 plants were self-grown, in varying sizes. Searches ranged from 6-foot plantations, obviously intended for personal use, to more ambitious plantations: 400 plants in Mayenne and Loire-Atlantique, 500 in the Vosges, 4000 in Thaiti, etc...

The real count is undoubtedly much higher, as not all regional affairs are reported «in the paper».

Why these figures? France remains Europe's biggest cannabis consumer. Repression won't change that. Cannabis has been banned since 1970, and 1.4 million people use it regularly. Is it dangerous? More people are dying as a result of trafficking. Victims of prohibition, just like some sick people who have died waiting for it.

The authorities' determination to combat drug trafficking would be understandable if they also offered a legal route. France is surrounded by countries that make cannabis use more or less easy. Every self-congratulation following a seizure is a failure in itself. The failure of a national drug policy, the failure of a European policy, the failure of politics altogether.

Our ministers will soon have a hard time justifying their position on cannabis. Europe isn't that far behind North America if we turn a blind eye to France. No medical access, repression of consumers and self-producers, fines for simple use.

There's little time left before the cannabis industry finds a way to crack France's prohibitive straitjacket. This time is also an opportunity to create a policy based on common interest rather than economic interest, from cancer patients to dynamic executives, from farmers to small traders, from Charlotte's Web to Pyrenean landraces, from cannabistros to pharmacies.

In the meantime, the official message is clear. Stepping up the fight against cannabusiness and rejoice in every seizure.