Can we say in France that cannabis has therapeutic effects?

Freedom of expression is limited in France when it comes to discussing the effects of narcotics. According to article L3421-4 of the French Public Health Code, any presentation of drug use in a favorable light is forbidden, cannabis is punishable by 5 years' imprisonment and a €75,000 fine. Committed in teaching or educational establishments, the offence is punishable by 7 years' imprisonment and a €100,000 fine.

But does that mean we should deny the thousands of research studies that point to the health benefits of cannabis ?

Renaud Colson, Senior Lecturer in Private Law and Criminal Sciences at the University of Nantes, answers this thorny question in the video below. A learned troll, he points out the inconsistency between the discourse on alcohol, a legal drug, and the de facto biased discourse on illegal drugs.

tl;dr : French law does attempt to limit freedom of expression, but it is subordinate to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Article 10 of which states that everyone has the right to freedom of expression, reinforced by a judgment of the Strasbourg Court on December 7, 1976, which ruled that this applies not only to information or ideas that are favourably received or regarded as inoffensive, but also to those that offend, shock or disturb.

In a forthcoming video, Renaud Colson will attempt to answer the question of whether France's prohibition of cannabis use is in line with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, which states that Liberty consists in being able to do anything that does not harm others, and that the Law only has the right to defend actions that are harmful to society.