By Jon Hiltz
Of the five major candidates hoping to be the next president of France, two have marijuana legalization as part of their platforms and two want to see cannabis decriminalized.
Candidate Emmanuel Macron of the En Marche! Party and Francois Fillon of Les Republicains both support cannabis decriminalization. Jean-Luc Melenchon of France Insoumise and Benoit Hamon of Parti Socialiste want to take the issue a step further by legalizing marijuana in France. Macron is leading many polls in France.
A French public health study published in April 2015 cited that nearly 700,000 French citizens smoke cannabis every day. Further to that, 11% of those aged 18 to 64 reported using cannabis at least once in the past year. These numbers show a clear indication that marijuana continues to be the most popular illegal substance in the French nation.
France’s “Law of 1970,” established on December 31, 1970, states that the potential punishment for being caught with marijuana is one year in jail and a fine of €3,750. The next president of the country may wipe that slate clean.
The significance of four out of five major candidates standing for some type of cannabis reform is incredible. It marks the first time in history that marijuana laws are being discussed at the forefront of French politics.
French media outlet Le Monde cited that the opinions of candidates have partially been swayed by marijuana reform in the United States and Canada. Another factor is that cannabis trafficking is a significant problem in France as the black market is fueled by illegal sales of pot and other drugs. Authorities know they only catch a small portion of what is being distributed by drug cartels, and that police “will never catch up.”
At this point, the discussion around decriminalization in France is about a simple fine of approximately €100 issued by police. This would allow law enforcement to maintain an active role while ensuring officers can focus on more serious crimes.
For the all out legalization option, it has been suggested by both Melenchon and Hamon that marijuana should become a commercially regulated product similar to tobacco or alcohol. This would allow the legal market to compete with and eventually outperform the black market, rendering its cartel-fueling profits moot.
Regardless of how it’s accomplished, four of the five candidates for president of a world power are running on some sort of cannabis reform. That in itself is a great accomplishment; many in France and around the world hope these campaign promises will lead to real reform for France’s population of nearly 65 million people.
The first round of the 2017 French presidential election will take place on April 23.
