The Minister of the Interior Gérard Collomb is in favor of a lighter penalty for the consumption of cannabis. He proposes to replace prison with fines.
Is a revolution brewing? A real policy change vis-à-vis cannabis is underway. The Minister of the Interior, Gérard Collomb, confirmed this at the microphone of Jean-Jacques Bourdin, on RMC. “Within three to four months”, consuming this substance could be punished with a simple fine.
The observation of the former mayor of Lyon (Rhône) and the President of the Republic is clear. Currently, prison sentences are rarely applied in the context of cannabis use. Yet the policy has so far remained very repressive.
For the first time, a government proposes an evolution of the legislation. It is not about legalizing, or even decriminalizing. But rather to lighten the legal process. Under the current law, a user or holder of cannabis is liable to one year in prison and more than 3,000 euros in fines.
Emmanuel Macron wants to give the police the possibility of issuing a ticket as soon as the arrest is made. “The problem today is that someone is arrested for drug trafficking and nothing is happening,” the Minister of the Interior explained to RMC. Two days later, he comes back to his neighborhood and does the same traffic again. “
The French for easing
This proposal marks a real evolution of the French position vis-à-vis cannabis. In a statement, the police union UNSA welcomed this announcement with enthusiasm, evoking “a strong demand for simplification and lightening of work, without sacrificing efficiency. “
In France, 4 in 10 people are in favor of decriminalizing cannabis consumption. It must be said that, according to the French Observatory for Drugs and Drug Addiction, 17 million have already tried smoking.
However, this change in posture does not augur a trend towards the relaxation of sanctions. If President Emmanuel Macron seems in favor of decriminalization, he has been cautious on the subject.
Find the program L’invité santé with
Prof. Bertrand Dautzenberg, pulmonologist (Paris)
broadcast on February 5, 2016:
.
