France: National Assembly votes for cannabis fine

Edito. Article 37 of the 2018–2022 Justice Planning Act was passed last Friday by a vote of 28 to 14 during its first reading. Translation: The simple use (consumption and possession) of cannabis in public places may now be punishable by a fine of €200, without precluding potential criminal prosecution that could result in a sentence of up to one year in prison and/or a fine of €3,750.

Even if one might have believed that the simple use of cannabis had been effectively decriminalized in France (there are still 144,000 arrests per year), France is thus systematically recriminalizing cannabis, contrary to the majority of European public policies.

The rocky road to the cannabis fine

It all began in 2017 in two lines tucked away within the 82 pages of the 2018–2022 Justice Planning Bill, unveiled in March by Justice Minister Nicole Belloubet.

Page 41 of this report proposed that Article L. 3421-1, which criminalizes the unlawful use of narcotics, be supplemented with the following paragraph:

«For the offense described in the first paragraph, including in cases of repeat offenses, prosecution may be terminated, under the conditions set forth in Articles 495-17 et seq. of the Code of Criminal Procedure, by the payment of a fixed fine in the amount of €300. The amount of the reduced fixed fine is €250, and the amount of the increased fixed fine is €600.»

An «fact-finding mission to assess the impact of applying the fixed-fine procedure to the offense of illegal drug use» was then formed in August. Brilliantly portrayed by Robin Reda and Eric Poulliat, she planned to hear testimony only from representatives from the gendarmerie, police, security, and criminal justice sectors. Patient and user advocacy groups had been invited only as a last resort, merely to make up the numbers.

The conclusions of the hearings were clear: the proposed measure would not serve to combat cannabis use, much less among minors since the fixed fine does not apply to them, and would hardly facilitate police work, as officers would have to issue citations and collect fines on the spot.

The only winner in this scheme would be the black market, which isn’t affected at all by this fine aimed at consumers caught red-handed. Go figure…

But never mind, the LREM's talking points all mentioned the «modernity» and 'effectiveness» of the fine.

The government then stepped up its efforts to push the bill through under an expedited procedure by resubmitting a text dated July 6, 2017.

The only change between the bill and the final version was a €100 reduction in the fine, achieved after an incredible fight by Eric Poulliat, for which he took credit.

There are some battles we’re happy to fight and win! Tonight in @AN_ComLois, we adopted my amendment reducing the fixed fine for drug use from 300 to 200 euros, with the support of @NBelloubet 1TP5Flat-Rate Allowance # Drugs pic.twitter.com/1PqkkmBa83

— Eric POULLIAT (@EPoulliat) November 8, 2018

And if the public health argument had been put forward to justify this fine, the Judiciary Committee would have been the final nail in its coffin by rejecting an amendment proposed by Robin Reda, who suggested that the fine be accompanied by information on healthcare facilities. We certainly don’t want drug addicts to even think about getting treatment!

Has the cannabis fine already been implemented?

That’s exactly where the problem lies. No one can tell us right now when the cannabis fine will actually be implemented.

However, we contacted the Ministry of the Interior, which referred us to the Automated Fine Processing Center in Rennes, which forwarded our request to its superiors. We are still awaiting their response as we write this article and will not hesitate to share it with you should it be passed down to us.

The bill has therefore been passed but cannot be implemented as is. To the best of our knowledge, two major points of uncertainty remain:

• Which government agency will be responsible for collecting the fines?
• Who will pay for the payment terminals that will be used to collect the fine on-site?

So Eric Poulliat is certainly right to pat himself on the back! Here’s a public service mission well accomplished—funded by our tax dollars, beneficial to society, and one that will most certainly contribute to improving public health and safety.

The prohibition of cannabis is a failure acknowledged by all—let’s strengthen it!