Assembly rejects proposal to legalize cannabis

In an almost empty hemicycle, the majority was present to oppose the text. It was important not to make a nuisance of ourselves by clumsily allowing a proposal to legalize cannabis that does not correspond to the political direction demanded by Emmanuel Macron and embodied by Gérald Darmanin.

Some twenty amendments had been tabled in opposition to the text, including one signed by Caroline Janvier, herself a signatory of the legalization proposal. The «parliamentary group technique» is whispered in our ear, whereby deletion amendments tabled in the LREM group are automatically considered signed by the deputies, leaving it up to them or their collaborators to withdraw their signatures.

Unsurprisingly, the proposal was rejected with 19 votes in favor and 54 against, with the adoption of deletion amendments from the LREM group and François Jolivet, a fervent defender of prohibition and Interior policy. Fun fact: between false modesty and moral panic, his amendment took the example of legalization in the Netherlands [editor's note: which has never legalized...and the failure of cannabis legalization in Canada, where 58% of consumers now buy from the legal market.

Jean-Baptiste Moreau, general rapporteur for the mission of information on cannabis, spoke in support of the text.

https://twitter.com/moreaujb23/status/1481756267504758785

Some will see a glimmer of hope in the LREM group's response to the legalization proposal, which «considers a legalization of recreational cannabis premature at this time» and would like «above all to organize a societal debate on the issue of cannabis, in order to consult all citizens on its legalization.»

The group also calls for in-depth work on this issue.

«If the recreational use of cannabis were to be envisaged, it would be necessary to define the desired French model of regulated legalization, taking into account both the successes and failures of foreign experiments and the specific political, historical and cultural features of our country. This is the purpose of the report by the joint information mission on the regulation and impact of the various uses of cannabis, which lists the questions to be answered in the public debate on legalizing this substance (production and distribution channels, status to be given to self-production, pricing methods, the «Evin» law on cannabis, reintegration of former traffickers, etc.)».»