Legalization of cannabis: which two French cities are favorable to local experimentation ?

Strasbourg et Bègles souhaitent expérimenter la légalisation du cannabis sur le modèle allemand. ILLUSTRATION PIXABAY

Following the legalization of cannabis consumption and cultivation in Germany, two French cities are considering setting up a local experiment.

It's official: from this Monday, April 1, Germany will authorize the consumption and cultivation of cannabis.

The law, definitively adopted on February 23 by the Bundestag (the German Parliament), authorizes people residing in Germany for at least six months to cultivate at home up to three plants for their own use, or to obtain up to 50 grams of dried cannabis per monthwith new "Cannabis Clubs", non-profit associations.

"That must be food for thought"

It is on this model that the environmentalist mayors of Bègles (Gironde) and Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), wish to experiment with the legalization of cannabis, on a local scale.

"In a common living area, we are going to have two different regulations, almost diametrically opposed, between Germany, authorizing the recreational consumption of cannabis, and France, presenting one of the most repressive legislations in Europe", argues Jeanne Barseghian, mayor of Strasbourg, in an interview with the ;AFP quoted by 20 minutes this Saturday, March 30.

"The fact that a European country like Germany, attached to public order and public health, decides to change its legislation clearly shows that a purely repressive policy did not seem satisfactory or effective […] In my opinion, it should provide food for thought", continues the councilor.

5 million users in France

According to figures from the European Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 47.3% of French adults say they have already used cannabis, a figure higher than in any other EU country. Furthermore, the French Drug Observatory indicates that France has around 5 million cannabis users.

For his part, the green mayor of Bègles, Clément Rossignol-Puech, had already launched debates on the issue last June before presenting an "experimentation notebook" in October to outline the precise contours of this idea, and expressed its ambition to become the first test city for supervised legalization of cannabis consumption in France.

Regulating consumption to fight against trafficking

Regulating consumption would, according to the elected representative of the Gironde commune, allow us to control the products that fall into the hands of young people and fight against trafficking.

"I am not at all advocating cannabis, my goal is to reduce consumption, to regulate it, like for tobacco and alcohol, and reduce trafficking […] this is not an eco-friendly thing leftists. Society is ready, but things are stuck at the State level, affirmed Clément Rossignol-Puech at the microphone of France Bleu on June 15, 2023.

The decision to set up such an experiment is not the responsibility of the municipalities: municipalities wishing to be experimentation territories will have to find support from national authorities.