Paris (AFP)
More than 70 personalities, including former Europeans Yannick Jadot and Raphaël Glucksmann, call on the authorities "to act quickly" to legalize cannabis in the name of "pragmatism", in a forum published Wednesday in the Obs.
"We must end the status quo: France must legalize cannabis, whether used for therapeutic or recreational purposes, for consumers over the age of 18", demand the signatories, including among others left, three LREM deputies, researchers, doctors and former ministers Bernard Kouchner and Daniel Vaillant.
"When will France accept to face reality, to be pragmatic?" they write.
The signatories of the platform call however to "control the production and distribution" of this "product harmful to health".
The authors regret in particular that France is "lagging behind" its neighbors who have "all eased their legislation" or some countries in the Americas who have already "legalized the substance".
Asked about this forum after the Council of Ministers, the spokesman repeated the government that such legalization was not on the agenda. "The government's position is not to go towards a legalization of cannabis," said Sibeth NDiaye, conceding simply that there could be "reflections" on a therapeutic use.
Recently, Canada and several US states have followed the example of Uruguay, the first country in the world to have legalized recreational cannabis in 2013.
Nearly one French in two had said they were in favor of legalizing cannabis in a study published by the French Observatory of Drugs and Drug Addiction (OFDT) in mid-April.
On Tuesday, deputies from all sides submitted a proposal for a law advocating a "controlled legalization" of this substance.
? 2019 AFP