Caroline Janvier: «My goal is to have the legalization of cannabis debated in 2022».»
For Caroline Janvier, a member of the National Assembly (LREM) representing the Loiret department, the 200,000 entries in the National Assembly hearing on recreational cannabis proves a «genuine desire» of the French public to discuss the issue. She now wants to propose to Emmanuel Macron that he include regulated legalization of cannabis in his 2022 platform.
You are the National Assembly’s thematic rapporteur on recreational cannabis. As such, you are leading the public consultation, which has been online for two weeks. What is the current status?
We’ve had just over 200,000 responses. On average, the Assembly’s surveys attract only a few thousand respondents. So this is already a fairly large number.
What do participants think about recreational cannabis?
Three-quarters of respondents support legalization. Those who want tougher penalties are very much in the minority. In fact, activists are overrepresented among the 200,000 responses. The vast majority are well-informed on the subject. More than half of the respondents are between the ages of 18 and 29. Three-quarters are men, compared to just one-quarter women, and Paris is overrepresented.
So you're hoping to have participants who are more representative of society?
Yes! What we wanted was to reach all French people who aren’t very familiar with the topic of recreational cannabis. People who give incorrect answers to questions about addiction, for example. So we need them to respond to the consultation. And we also need women, to restore a balance.
What's the next step after this consultation?
Quite clearly, it’s the 2022 presidential election. My goal is for every political party to take a clear stance on the issue. Cannabis shouldn’t be the exclusive domain of the Socialist Party or the Greens. My second goal is to ensure there is a «cannabis» section in En Marche’s platform. Personally, I support legalization, with state regulation. We could then reduce consumption, with a public health objective in mind.
Is legalization in 2022 feasible?
If it were up to me, yes, I think it’s feasible. But in politics, you never do things alone. We need to build momentum around this idea and convince our colleagues. To convince them, I need public opinion and expert input. If public opinion is favorable and considers this an important issue, that’s a first step. Then, if we have enough evidence, data, and expert analyses to show that legalization wouldn’t increase consumption among young people, lead cannabis users to hard drugs, or drive organized crime into other markets, then that’s a second argument.
What do you mean by «government regulation» ? What model should be adopted if it were legalized?
I don't know yet. There's a balance to be struck between a public monopoly— just like in Uruguay – where the black market cannot be eliminated, and another model – which is that of several U.S. states – where the private sector dominates and implements marketing strategies to attract consumers. We need to create and develop a French model.
The National Assembly's public consultation is open to all citizens until February 28.
Caroline Janvier asked to review this interview before publication.
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tharos80
January 29, 2021 at 2:57 p.m.
When this public consultation was released, I was both surprised and pleased to see that perhaps the issue would be brought back to the table, with a potential chance for things to change…
Then came the questions about the profits associated with legalization… I began to realize that the motivation was becoming more about economics than a genuine desire to see the status and image of cannabis change… If, however, it does end up being legalized, I’d bet my life that the government won’t let us grow our own weed—not that they care much about it anyway— the economic aspect is far too lucrative to risk losing money to consumers who would grow their own weed, which would cost them three times less than buying it from a specialty shop…
And then I came across this article, and that was the final straw, in my opinion… If I were to summarize the article, this is how I see it: »If the majority of people are in favor, LREM will try to incorporate legalization into Emmanuel Macron’s presidential campaign»… In other words, the situation is like a trapper setting a trap for an animal… You scout the area, and when you find a good spot, you set the trap… For me, the consultation is the observation phase, and the potential inclusion in the presidential campaign is the trap…
Let’s recall that in 2016, during an interview with France Inter, our President—who was then a minister and had already expressed his desire to run for president—said, and I quote, »I’m not against it» (the interview is still available on YouTube) …
Some time later (by which point he was President of the Republic)—specifically around October 25, 2019—during a live broadcast in Grand Anse (Réunion), he said, and I quote: »So let’s be clear: I am not in favor of legalizing cannabis» …
So, after thanking Ms. Janvier for her willingness to move things forward, it’s a huge disappointment to see that this will only be used to win over voters… Because I find it hard to imagine, after this first about-face by our president, that he wouldn’t be capable of pulling the same stunt on us again in 2022…
It’s sad that in 2021, we’re being led to believe that they want to change the legal status of cannabis when it’s really just a ploy to win over voters…
Tired of being treated like idiots …
osirion
5 February 2021 at 2:49 p.m.
Hello,
We can only commend this elected official’s initiative, as well as that of all those who are promoting the same project within other parties.
However, the public consultation was announced in the France-Soir online newspaper,
but no other daily newspapers or television news outlets mentioned it.
For the record (I was in Paris at the time), this ban stemmed from the Chaban-Delmas government’s political hostility toward the civil and cultural freedoms that emerged from May 1968. It was also the pet cause of right-wing politicians and conservatives, who orchestrated a regime of censorship accompanied by the insidious cultural genocide of the 1970s and 1980s.
In fact, French culture completely ignores the psychedelic era and everything associated with it by imposing, through massive investments, the culture of soccer and disco hits, because they are less representative of escapism and drugs (a theme taken up by Sarkozy in 2003)…
But recess ends in a bloodbath due to the insecurity caused by the unacceptable conviction of millions of citizens, with the state itself as the sole prosecutor (long live democracy).
Finally, if legalization is to happen, it will come from Europe, because the appointment of Sarkozy’s friend as interior minister can only foreshadow an increase in trafficking, crime, and delinquency—certainly not the opposite! And even less so a desire to legalize!
This is because those who created this scourge (the UMP) are still in power and are ensuring that the dictatorship remains in place, despite the pandemic and the resulting economic crisis!
So, good luck to the reformers! The French aren’t counting on elections that constantly betray them; they remain free and engaged in civil disobedience against the hatred and stupidity of a fanatical and incompetent government.