Tag: France

Cannabis consumption in France is more common than in many other parts of the world, as demonstrated by recent survey data that was collected and analyzed by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies. In its most recent survey involving adults aged 18 to 64, the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies found that 10.6% of the survey participants reported having consumed cannabis within the last year. With so many people consuming cannabis in France, it begs the question, when will France pass an adult-use legalization measure?

The same survey by the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies, which was conducted in conjunction with the Santé Publique France agency, found that 47.3% of the survey participants reported having consumed cannabis at least once in their lifetime. To put these numbers into perspective, United States survey data indicates that roughly 49% of adults report having consumed cannabis at least once in their lifetime, and roughly 12% report being an annual consumer.

Yet, whereas the U.S. is trending in the right direction when it comes to cannabis reform, the same cannot be said about France. Late last year France lifted a previously implemented ban on CBD products, however, that is clearly not enough. Even with legalization looming across the border in Germany, leaders in France are indicating that they want to take a ‘wait and see’ approach.

Monitoring From Afar

Germany’s Health Minister Karl Lauterbach is currently lobbying the European Union to gain approval for Germany to proceed with an adult-use legalization measure that would result in the launch of nationwide legal adult-use cannabis sales. According to recent comments made by Minister Lauterbach, he has received “very good feedback” from the EU and indicated that a formal introduction of a legalization measure will happen very soon.

Many countries around the globe are watching Germany with a very close eye, particularly countries on the European continent. Leadership in the Czech Republic has already indicated that it will try to follow Germany’s lead if/when Germany passes an adult-use legalization measure. Unfortunately, leaders in France appear to be taking a more passive approach.

“France will closely monitor the evolution of the German legislative framework, especially with regard to its potential impact on cross-border regions,” the office of French Health Minister François Braun recently told EURACTIV France. The comments from the French Health Minister do not instill any confidence that France will be legalizing any time soon. If anything, they seem to indicate that increased prohibition enforcement may be on the horizon along the France/Germany border.

Boosting Public Health

Whether international cannabis observers realize it or not, Germany is currently doing a considerable amount of the heavy lifting to legalize cannabis across the European continent. The biggest hurdle to comprehensive continental adult-use reform is the European Union, and if/when Germany can overcome that hurdle, it will have created an adult-use legalization blueprint for other European countries to copy, including France.

With a reported second-highest cannabis consumption rate on the European continent, France’s consumer base is enormous. With some minor exceptions, a vast majority of what France consumers are inhaling and/or ingesting is completely unregulated. That is problematic from a public health standpoint and can be largely mitigated by launching a regulated adult-use industry.

That premise largely serves as the crux of the argument being made right now by Germany’s Health Minister to the EU. It’s an argument that France would be well-served to be on the right side of, and there are calls from within France to do so. The consumption of unregulated cannabis products is a public health concern according to France’s Economic, Social, and Environmental Council. The Council is recommending legalization, and policymakers in France should follow that recommendation as soon as possible.

31 senators challenged President Macron on the pages of Le Monde last week to implement full cannabis legalization – but what does this really mean for reform in France?

Cannabis usually exists, still, in the political fault lines, just about everywhere.

That is certainly true in France at the moment. Last Monday, thirty-one federal French senators published a letter in Le Monde, one of the most popular newspapers in France, calling for full legalization. Decrim, as they argued, is a cynical half step.

It is a fascinating development – and for several reasons – both about and beyond the legalization discussion specifically. On the cannabis front, it comes during the first year of France’s much delayed medical trial. It is also happening in a country which has already helped set European cannabis policy – on CBD.

Apart from this, however, the political impetus behind this declaration is absolutely a challenge to the status quo – and from a place that sitting president Emmanuel Macron cannot ignore. Namely, despite the fact that he has repeatedly said he would never implement recreational reform, this new challenge is coming from a group he needs to stave off the extreme right wing – both of whom are anti Europe and cannabis – after he lost a majority in Parliament this summer.

Despite the fact that Macron has repeatedly shown that he is a politician who can only be moved by increments, the fact that this bloc has also called for him to speed up, rather than incrementally implement the cannabis reform process says a great deal about the political climate locally, beyond just cannabis reform.

France’s Role in the European Cannabis Bloc

Right now, Germany is very publicly debating how it might implement recreational cannabis reform without violating the international treaties on drug control that, of course, also cover cannabis. The one that is most mentioned in Europe is the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. This is why three countries (so far) – namely Germany, Luxembourg, and Malta – have begun to meet on a multilateral basis to discuss how to proceed.

France as the bloc’s second largest economy, no doubt, should join that table. And Macron, as a committed pro EU politician, is going to have little wiggle room to completely ignore this development. This will be even more true as other countries begin to join this conversation – from Portugal and Italy to Greece and Spain beyond that.

One thing is for sure. France may not be on the leading edge of the revolution, but it is certainly joining the party – despite the wishes of its top politician.

France, like every other country on planet earth, is home to adult-use cannabis consumers and medical cannabis patients. Whether the government in France regulates cannabis or not, people are still going to consume it. That is a point that is not lost on a group of Senators in France who recently published an op-ed in Le Monde calling for national legalization.

The op-ed’s text was provided by ‘a collective of 31 senators from the Socialist, Ecologist and Republican group, led by Gilbert-Luc Devinaz’ according to the subheadline of the article. The goal of the op-ed, as described in the same subheadline, is ‘to launch a consultation process in order to table a bill to legalize cannabis.’

What Legalization Provisions Are The Senators Calling For?

The Senators started their op-ed by citing statistics from a National Assembly ‘Recreational Cannabis Progress Report‘ regarding the rate of cannabis use in France. The report estimates that nearly 18 million people in France have tried cannabis at least once in their lives and that roughly 1.5 million people in France use cannabis ‘regularly.’ For reference, France is home to roughly 67 million people.

“In this context, we must get out of the lax trial regularly made to the proponents of an evolution of the legal framework. We, socialist senators, face reality: the situation is untenable. The French are ready to debate the consumption of so-called recreational cannabis.” the op-ed stated (translated from French to English).

The Senators describe prohibition as being “ineffective, inefficient and unjust.” The main crux of their proposal seems to hinge on regulating cannabis products to reduce the size and influence of the unregulated market and to help mitigate issues related to youth consumption. The op-ed briefly discussed decriminalization prior to declaring it insufficient and instead called for outright legalization.

Mounting Pressure Along The Border

For many years the cannabis reform discussion in France largely took place inside a political vacuum. Those days are long gone. Multiple countries that share a border with France are actively pursuing meaningful cannabis reform, not the least of which is Germany. Lawmakers in France are facing the inevitable – pursue domestic cannabis reform measures or watch cannabis consumers go from France to Germany to make their legal cannabis purchases and miss out on the economic benefits that come with it.

Lawmakers in France would be wise to get things moving in a swift manner, as the country is already well behind Germany and other nations when it comes to crafting cannabis policies and industry regulations. Just as the Senators that published the op-ed pointed out, people are going to consume cannabis in France regardless of what the laws are.

The only real question that remains is whether their consumer and patient dollars will go into a regulated system in France or not, and the only way that consumers will ever make legal purchases in France is if lawmakers step up. If they choose to keep dragging their feet, France will likely miss out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

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.