France: cannabis to save the farmers of Laas

In this farming commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques region, farmers are at their wits' end. To remedy the situation, Jacques Pédéhontaa, the mayor of Laas, has asked President Macron to authorize him to experiment with growing cannabis in his commune.

Agriculture in distress

The situation of farmers in France is critical. The suicide rate in this sector is higher by about 20% than the national average. This is all the more worrying given the vital importance of the sector to our society and economy. In Laas, the mayor speaks of «the distress and tragedy, today, of agriculture [in his commune] and in France as a whole, with people no longer able to make a living».

How cannabis can help

Cannabis is a relatively easy plant to grow, with low ecological impact and high profitability. For this reason, Jacques Pédéhontaa sees it as a solution to the problems facing his commune. In a letter addressed directly to the President of the Republic, he asks for the possibility of experimenting with cannabis cultivation, for local farmers.

He also hopes to relaunch the debate on a national scale: «It's a social debate which, in my opinion, will become important in France in the days or months to come. I have no intention of keeping my friends in the dark. To prepare things, what we're asking President Macron is to explain how we see things, and to be a candidate for experimentation in the cultivation of hemp for therapeutic and recreational cannabis. This is a controlled, supervised process, under the guidance of the prefect. We're not becoming dealers in our own project, that's not what it's about.»

Jacques Pédéhontaa joins Eric Correia, regional councillor for the Creuse region, among the political figures who have publicly taken a stance in favor of experimenting with the legal cultivation of cannabis.