A group of associations launches a petition to decriminalize drugs in France

In observance of International Day Support Don’t Punish On June 26, 2023, the Collective for a New Drug Policy (CNPD) invites to sign a petition calling for the passage of a law that would eliminate criminal penalties for drug use in France. Its goal is to collect 100,000 signatures by 2027 in order to request that the National Assembly consider a new law.

Marie Ongün-Rombaldi, executive director of the Fédération Addiction and a member of the CNPD, believes that «health must take priority over repression.» According to her, penalties targeting drug users constitute «an obstacle to access to treatment, prevention, and harm reduction» and symbolize France's Failure in Drug Policy.

«We are one of the most repressive countries in the world and one of the biggest consumers of cocaine and cannabis,» adds Marie Ongün-Rombaldi, calling for «pragmatism» in the face of a «moral and ideological» stance.

Given that law enforcement is ineffective, costly, and has no real impact on drug trafficking, the CNPD would like to see a new law that ends criminal penalties for simple drug use (consumption and possession). More specifically, the coalition is calling for a reform of the Public Health Code to allow for:

• for consumers to feel free to seek support from organizations and professionals in the fields of harm reduction and care
• to expand information, prevention, and risk-reduction efforts that would then no longer conflict with the law: the goal is to protect people’s health and reduce the health and social costs of drugs that burden the community
• to reinvest the public funds thus saved, for example, in prevention, risk and harm reduction, and treatment initiatives
• to free up resources and time for law enforcement and judicial services so they can refocus their efforts on protecting people, particularly those who are most socially vulnerable.

If this petition gathers at least 100,000 signatures, it will first be posted on the National Assembly’s website. One of the National Assembly’s eight standing committees may then take up the petition, either to decide to examine the text during a debate that will result in a parliamentary report, or to shelve the petition—likely alongside the Reports of the Fact-Finding Mission on cannabis use and of the EESC.

The CNPD brings together some 20 organizations representing stakeholders in the medical-social field (Fédération Addiction, Aides, Médecins du Monde, Safe, SOS Addictions), service users (Asud), the Police Against Prohibition Collective, the Magistrates’ Union, the Human Rights League, the International Prison Observatory…