French Presidential Candidate Comes Out Against Cannabis Legalization

According to data from 2019 France was tied with Spain for the greatest cannabis consumption rate per country in Europe. It is estimated that roughly 11% of adults in France consume cannabis at least once a year.

Despite being a co-continental leader in cannabis consumption, France’s cannabis policies lag behind those of many of its European counterparts.

It wasn’t until the beginning of this month that France legalized commercial medical cannabis production, and it did so with seemingly little political fanfare.

Whereas some countries in Europe have either legalized cannabis nationally for adult-use (Malta) or launched adult-use legalization pilot programs (Switzerland, the Netherlands, Denmark), or at the very least are trending in that direction (Germany, Luxembourg, Italy), France doesn’t appear to be moving towards ending prohibition any time soon.

French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen seems to be OK with the status quo, recently indicating that she is “completely against” legalizing cannabis, as seen in this tweet that was included in a recent Marijuana Moment newsletter:

📹 Je suis tout à fait contre la légalisation du cannabis. Cette substance abîme le cerveau et tue les neurones de nos jeunes à un âge où ils en ont bien besoin ! #LaFranceDansLesYeux pic.twitter.com/SBegg2RcyH

— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) March 22, 2022

If someone were to rely on Le Pen’s word alone, cannabis legalization sounds like a very scary thing. However, Le Pen’s claims are easily refuted by looking no further than the three countries that have legalized cannabis for adult use at a national level.

Uruguay legalized cannabis for adult use the better part of a decade ago, and the sky is still intact over Uruguay. Canada legalized cannabis for adult use in 2018, and there has been no brain damage epidemic outbreak due to cannabis the last time that I checked.

Malta has also now legalized cannabis for adult use, and on the European continent no less, although sales are still prohibited unlike in Uruguay and Canada.

Regardless, a cannabis doomsday scenario has yet to materialize in Malta so far, and the same would be true in France if/when their lawmakers finally decide to get on the right side of history and end cannabis prohibition. Needless to say, if you are a cannabis advocate in France do not vote for Marine Le Pen.