Drugs: an awareness campaign launched "before the end of the summer", announces Darmanin

The government will launch "before the end of the summer" a campaign to raise awareness against drugs, announced Gérald Darmanin in an interview with the 

, a week after Emmanuel Macron's proposal to open a "big debate" on the subject. "The last awareness campaign against drugs dates back 30 years! The government will launch a new one before the end of the summer under the authority of the Prime Minister", declared to the

the Minister of the Interior, who made of the fight against drug trafficking its priority.

On the repressive side, Gérald Darmanin affirmed that the police services had carried out since January "more than 1,300 operations of dismantling of the points of deal", with "important and regular seizures" to the key.

In addition, "more than 70,000 criminal fines" have been issued to consumers since September 1, the date of their generalization.

"Cannabis has become a hard drug"

In a river interview with

last Monday, Emmanuel Macron wanted the launch of "a major national debate on drug consumption and its deleterious effects" without detailing how this consultation could be conducted.

"France has become a country of consumption and therefore, we must break this taboo", estimated the head of state.

France is the leading country in Europe in terms of the number of cannabis consumers with 1.5 million regular users.

"Cannabis has become a hard drug," Gérald Darmanin told

, recalling the "considerable" increase in the level of THC, the psychotropic molecule in cannabis.