EESC calls for legalization of cannabis in France

The French Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE), a consultative body that advises the Government and Parliament, came out in favor of the controlled legalization of cannabis on Tuesday January 24.

At a plenary session, 2 EESC rapporteurs unveiled the main points of their draft opinion on «Cannabis: moving away from the status quo towards controlled legalization».

The CESE's work is based on 10 months of research and hearings, with the aim of taking stock of current public policies and exploring the impact of changing them, from the status quo to legalization and decriminalization. He reminds us the work of the Cannabis Information Mission which resulted in global inaction on CBD, medical cannabis and medical cannabis.

The CESE also points to the «resounding failure of a policy pursued over the last fifty years», namely the repression of drug use, which in 1970 aimed to make France a drug-free country. It also stresses on the futility of the €200 fixed fine which punishes the simple and public use of cannabis and is above all handed over for young people in vulnerable situations on populations already in difficulty.

It also notes that «from a public health point of view, prevention initiatives are generally ineffective, especially among young consumers, who are increasingly exposed to uncontrolled products».

The EESC adds that prohibition undermines any message of prevention, and «mobilizes police and judicial services to great effect, without any real impact on the scale of trafficking and consumption, which remains the highest in Europe».

Inspired by legalizing cannabis in Canada, Malta or by 2024 in Germany, The EESC therefore proposes «controlled legalization» of cannabis production, distribution and consumption.

Pending a paradigm shift, the EESC calls for an initial phase of decriminalization, with authorization for cannabiculture and Cannabis Social Clubs, as well as work on testing for cannabis at the wheel, which today punishes cannabis users more than driving under the influence of cannabis, traces of cannabis and the use of cannabis in the workplace. THC persists long after consumption.

The two rapporteurs, Florent Compain, spokesman for Friends of the Earth France, and Helno Eyriey, ex-president of Unef, explain that legalization is primarily aimed at «public health objectives», but could also help to ’weaken and dry up as much as possible» illegal trafficking.

«Far from any ideological posturing,» the EESC calls for a wide-ranging public debate and for the involvement of «the people who do it, because they're the ones who know».

The EESC is also in favor of reducing the THC content of hemp to 1%, and expanding research into cannabis to better understand the plant's interaction with humans, as well as to develop its industrial, technological and textile uses.