The Senate votes in favor of the fixed fine, or the new face of crackdowns on cannabis users

Editorial. Late last night, the Senate Law Commission voted to introduce a fixed fine for drug use. Cannabis users caught breaking the law on the public highway will be liable to a fine of €300 (€250 in the event of immediate payment), which may be increased to €600 in the event of non-payment. This type of fine is classically used for traffic offences, and does not remove the penalties and legal proceedings relating to the offence.

This vote is only the beginning of the law's journey, but it is already a reality in part, the government project (the text was introduced by the Minister of Justice, Nicole Belloubet). Following this vote by the Senate Committee, the text will be debated and amended in plenary session. At the end of this session, it will be submitted to the National Assembly, which must vote identically. If it modifies the text, it will then shuttle back and forth between the two institutions, or be referred to a joint committee until agreement is reached on its final form.

The Commission Debate

The debate was not confined to drug consumption, but was more broadly concerned with the introduction of a fixed fine in general and for a multiplicity of cases. This would also apply to the sale of alcohol to minors. The lump-sum fine applied to drug consumption seems to have met with unanimous approval in the Commission, apart from the opposition of Esther Benbassa, who sought to amend the text with a view to its deletion.

According to the Minister of Justice, forfaitization is just «another tool in a range of responses (...) an effective tool that in no way prevents the implementation of a public health policy, and a tool that preserves an individualized response in a certain number of cases». Esther Benbassa responds: «The principle of individualized sentencing has been flouted. This measure grants arbitrary power to the forces of law and order responsible for enforcing fines. As a result, they will be able to impose penalties without limit and with total disregard for the rights of suspected offenders. Indeed, it's hard to see how this fine will preserve an individualized response, since it's the same tarot for everyone.

The ecologist senator adds that this «measure is devoid of any consideration of public health issues». Firstly, because of a legal impossibility, the fine does not apply to minors, who are the population most at risk and a segment of the population that is increasingly consuming cannabis. «It will therefore be devoid of any deterrent effect on consumption among the youngest members of the population», she denounced.

Secondly, because this measure continues to treat drug users as delinquents, even though a government agency mandated by the Ministry of Health is currently studying the relevance and potential of introducing medical cannabis in France.

All in contradiction

France is thus reiterating a judicial response rather than a sanitary one, while adding another very French touch - the slap-on-the-wallet policy. The committee's co-rapporteur (LR), François-Noël Buffet, speaking on behalf of the committee, declared: «The committee considers that this system is just one response among others. It has another virtue: if we hit where it hurts, we take money». According to this logic, taking money would reduce purchasing power in terms of narcotics. This logic has proved its worth, since the whole of France now drives at 80km/h on the RN or pays its fines.

Perhaps most frustrating of all, this measure was presented by the government as a decriminalization measure. Esther Benbassa denounces this contradiction, speaking of a «repressive measure (...) presented a few months ago by the government as a first step towards a more lenient penal law». In reality, not only are penal measures being maintained, but users will have to empty their pockets, both figuratively and literally.

This contradiction is reflected in the Minister's own speech, in which she speaks of a logic of «efficiency, firmness, dissuasion and public health [whereas today] consumers are simply reminded of the law». This discourse is clearly that of a policy of repression, a repression which, according to the Minister, has softened. And yet, the number of arrests of cannabis users represent a very significant percentage of police activity in disregard of the trafficking and use of other drugs, and artificially increase crime figures. These figures are likely to increase still further, since no-one will escape being fined, whereas an individualized response would let a few users off the hook at the mercy of the forces of law and order.

For a new drug policy

The ineffectiveness of policies to crack down on cannabis users is no longer a secret. Consumers are on the increase and flouting the law. This fine only seems to reaffirm a repressive spirit with a new financial tool, instead of adapting it to the social and political reality of cannabis. According to Esther Benbassa, it will have the «effect of aggravating an often already precarious situation with a financial penalty». She denounces the measure as unfair and unequal, given that «consumption patterns diverge between precarious and social circles». Between those who smoke in the street and those who smoke in the shelter of their garden, we know who can afford to pay a €300 fine.

In the press release below, Esther Benbassa calls on Parliament to show pragmatism and courage. Pragmatism to opt for controlled legalization of cannabis and health regulation of drug use problems, and courage to put an end once and for all to French-style conservative positions that take a step backwards while the world moves forward.