The rebellious deputy from Bouches-du-Rhône spoke after the death of three men in Marseille on the background of drug trafficking.
While in Marseille, three men were shot dead this weekend against the backdrop of drug trafficking, Manuel Bompard, rebellious MP for Bouches-du-Rhône, believes that we must think about legalizing cannabis to avoid further settling of scores: “I think this debate will have to be reopened. We have the most repressive legislation in France and we are also in the country where we consume the most, there is a problem”he said on Cnews.
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Manuel Bompard says the truth about consumption: France is the European country where the most cannabis is smoked. And he says rather true on the repression. We are among the countries that most sanction the use or possession of cannabis.
High consumption in the general population, decreasing among young people
If we take a closer look at cannabis consumption, France is at the top of the ranking of the countries that consume the most since nearly one in two people (45%) have smoked at least once in their life. VSIt’s more than Spain and Italy, just behind us in the standings. And this is significantly more than the European average which is 27%, according to the European Center for Drugs and Addiction.
According to the French Observatory of Drugs, there are 1.3 million regular users, including 850,000 who smoke every day in France. This is’a fairly stable trend. In On the other hand, the first joint or regular consumption among the youngest (18-24 years old) has tended to fall in recent years, even if it nevertheless remains above the European average.
Up to 1 year in prison for drug use
Regarding repression, is France really more severe than its neighbors? It is quite true, although some countries like Cyprus provide for even heavier penalties than in France. However, we are one of the few strictest European countries that consider the use of cannabis to be a criminal offence, which can therefore lead to a prison sentence of up to one year and a fine of 3,750 euros.
In fact, this concerns very few people. Sccording to the Ministry of the Interior and that of Justice, of the approximately 180,000 people confronted each year by the courts for drug use, the majority are mostly sentenced to hours of community service or to fines.
And for nearly three years, France has added fixed fines to its repressive arsenal. A fine of 200 euros for cannabis smokers. ILast year, just over 140,000 fines were issued.