MPs and cannabis: Between legitimate questions and cannabis clichés

On Tuesday, July 16, the Economic Affairs Committee welcomed Emmanuelle Auriol and Pierre-Yves Geoffard, co-authors of the report «Cannabis: how to regain control» recently published under the aegis of the Conseil d'Analyse Economique, calling for the rapid legalization of cannabis in France. As the Commission's Chairman, Roland Lescure, pointed out, the hearing was intended as a prelude to the launch of the future Fact-finding mission on cannabis use, which will eventually host the Culture and Education Commission in addition to the 4 others already planned.

After outlining the main points of their report, Emmanuelle Auriol and Pierre-Yves Geoffard answered questions from the Commission's deputies, which we have transcribed for you here as a true thermometer of opinion on the subject. The hearing can be viewed in full on the Commission website.

Between legitimate questions and clichés about cannabis

Economic aspects

As the hearing took place within the Economic Affairs Commission, with the authors of an economic report, the purely economic aspect could not be avoided. Jean-Baptiste Moreau, LREM deputy for the Creuse region and head of the forthcoming Mission d'information on cannabis, began by asking about the economic effects of legalizing the various uses of cannabis in foreign countries, and the influence of legalizing recreational cannabis on existing hemp industries.

While LR MP Eric Pauget found it shocking to approach the subject of cannabis from an economic angle, Democrat MP Jean-Luc Lagleize asked whether moderate cannabis prices might not attract new consumers, and what the situation would be with other European countries that didn't take the plunge.

Guillaume Kasbarian and Mickaël Nogal (LREM) spoke in favor of legalization, talking about lifting the «veil of modesty» that France casts over the subject, recalling the numerous Snapchat techniques for drug dealers, and the production and distribution channels needed to implement a genuine consumer protection policy.

Anne Blanc (LREM) is in favor of setting up a local production chain, but doesn't want to make it an issue of legalization.

Protecting young people

The issue of youth protection has been addressed on numerous occasions:

• Eric Pauget recalled the effect of cannabis on young people and expressed concern about the gateway effect of cannabis.
• Thierry Benoit (UDI) raised the issue of the perceptibility of cannabis use, arguing that it had been banned because it was harmful.
• Sébastien Leclerc (LR) wonders whether legalization might make cannabis more accessible
• Jean-Claude Bouchet (LR) questions the ability to guarantee non-access to minors
• Dider Martin (LREM) pointed out that cannabis use among young people was associated with other products.
• Anne Blanc wonders whether young people won't take the plunge into hard drugs once cannabis is legalized, and doubts the State's ability to prohibit the sale of cannabis to them.

Black market

With the cannabis market now pre-empted by the black market, the deputies also wondered about the effect of legalization on the latter. Sébastien Leclerc asked whether there were any figures on the decline in delinquency following legalization. Jean-Claude Bouchet considers the argument of the drying up of smuggling networks to be simplistic, and sees it above all as a normalization of use. However, he sees the possibility of police forces being able to spend more time on other drugs. Didier Martin raises the question of future resources for dealers, and in particular the sale of new drugs.

Public health

Parallels with alcohol use were raised several times, for example by Thierry Benoit (UDI), or by Sophie Beaudouin-Hubière (LREM), who called for a comparative study between cannabis and alcohol, «freeing ourselves from the fact that we are a country renowned for its wine production». She also raised the question of the threshold at which driving under the influence of cannabis is no longer possible, pointing out that it is now legal to drive under the influence of anxiolytics, which have the «same effects» as cannabis.

Jean-Claude Bouchet also asked us to take a closer look at road accidents and health.

Freewheel

Let's save the best for last in the person of Claire O'Petit (LREM), who sees nothing «recreational» about cannabis. After pointing out that Sarah Halimi's murderer had consumed cannabis, she emphasizes that users are vulnerable to the drug for the rest of their lives. She sees the legalization of cannabis only under the spectre of the weakness of the State, and wonders whether it should be a drug dealer. She believes that the repressive approach should be pursued, raising the possibility of widespread cannabis testing during roadside checks.

What answers can we give MPs?

While the Mission d'information will do its utmost to provide answers to these questions, we can nevertheless recommend reading these articles:

• Economic impact
  • US cannabis market estimated at $80 billion by 2030
  • United States: CBD market could reach $22 billion by 2022
  • European cannabis market estimated to be the most promising in terms of growth
• Effects of legalization on the black market
  • Canada: the cannabis black market will still capture 71% of demand in 2019, and 37% in 2020
  • Canada: legal cannabis 80% more expensive than black market cannabis
• Effects of legalization on the medical market
  • The effects of recreational cannabis legalization on the medical cannabis market
  • #DontTaxMedicine: the Canadian hashtag protesting federal taxes on medical cannabis
• Legalization and young people
  • Study: legalizing recreational cannabis would reduce consumption among young people
  • Colorado: youth cannabis use down since legalization
  • A new study shows (again) that legalizing cannabis has no impact on youth consumption
  • Cannabis and hard drugs: non-escalation
• Cannabis and driving
  • Study: cannabis legalization has not increased the number of road accidents in the USA
  • Study: Road accidents did not increase after cannabis legalization in Colorado and Washington
  • New study shows no significant link between driving under the influence of cannabis and road accidents
• Legalization and delinquency
  • Study: cannabis legalization helps police solve certain crimes more effectively
  • USA: States where cannabis is legal see less violent crime
• Cannabis and prohibition
  • Where does cannabis prohibition come from?
  • Jay-Z: why the war on drugs is a glaring failure
  • 11 alternatives to cannabis prohibition
• Legalization failures
  • What's wrong with legalizing recreational cannabis
  • 5 years after legalizing cannabis, Uruguay struggles to meet demand