In Marseille, elected officials and activists call for the legalization of cannabis

They echoed the words of reggae singer Peter Tosh… but want to steer clear of clichés. About twenty experts led Legalize It, this weekend in Marseille. There’s only one call to action: Let’s legalize cannabis—and fast. With several elected officials—including some from City Hall—this rally aims to influence the public debate, just a few days before the presidential election.

Marseille, a city said to be dear to President Emmanuel Macron… but destabilized by the cannabis trafficking. «There are far too many deaths in our city; it's unbearable.», Fanny Fontan explains right off the bat. The documentary filmmaker co-organized the event with the founder of Kanavape Sébastien Béguerie, from the Green Party elected officials and the pro-legalization group NORML France.

In 2021, 90 people died in Marseille in drug-related killings, according to the Judicial Police. For the organizers of Legalize It, allow the Cannabis sales could put an end to this violence. « The justice system and the police are overwhelmed by drug trafficking, and we are faced with a hypocritical narrative that insists on continuing with a repressive approach. We must consider the alternative, the »legalization", says Fabien Perez, the Green Party representative on the Marseille City Council.

But sociologist Khadidja Sahraoui-Chapuis does not see this as a miracle solution. «I think we need to be cautious about the impact on working-class neighborhoods, first of all because there are very few stores that sell only cannabis. […] Legalization shouldn’t be just about hipsters who want easy access to cannabis. We need to work with the residents of these neighborhoods.»

«Used motor oil» in cannabis resin

Legalizing cannabis would also be a way to regulate these products and impose health standards on them. «Cannabis is often cut with henna or used motor oil.". »Consumers have been treated as second-class citizens for years," he criticizes Farid Ghehiouèche, by Cannabis Sans Frontières.

Finally, the distribution of cannabis would also allow for to provide jobs, in a city where nearly one in five residents is unemployed (as of 2018)—twice the national average. «If we reform the legal status of the cannabis trade, it won’t be a panacea—the revolution isn’t coming overnight—but it could set something in motion.», hopes economist Christian Ben Lakhdar.