Few countries in the world have legalized cannabis. But in these states, “we have extremely precise studies which show that in a few years, drug trafficking tends to decrease”, according to a lawyer interviewed by franceinfo.
Gérald Darmanin has made the war against narcotics his priority, with a strategy of shelling deal points. While Renaissance MP Sabrina Agresti-Roubache welcomed the government’s efforts on Tuesday, May 2, here is what she said: “Legalization [du cannabis] which took place in certain States, particularly in Europe, has not proved its worth. In the current situation in France, it would be a renunciation.
The elected Marseille suggests that a number of European countries have already legalized cannabis. However, only one State has actually taken the plunge: Malta, which has legalized in 2021 the cultivation and consumption of cannabis for personal and recreational use. However, trafficking remains illegal. In the rest of the European Union, the possession of cannabis is prohibited, as shown in this interactive map published by the Touteleurope.eu website.
However, the lines are moving across the continent. In Germany, the Czech Republic and Luxembourg, governments are working on bills to legalize recreational cannabis. In the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, it has been decriminalized in recent decades. For example, the Netherlands has tolerated the possession, consumption and retail sale of up to five grams of cannabis in coffee shops since 1976. In 2001, Portugal decriminalized the consumption and possession of all drugs, which are however prohibited.
MP confuses legalization and decriminalization
Decriminalization corresponds, in practice, to a state of affairs where the police and the justice system give up systematically punishing consumers and small traffickers. France is no exception to this European trend: “It has largely decriminalized the use of cannabis for quite a long time, even if we pretend to be in a situation where we repress it”, analyzes the jurist Renaud Colson, lecturer at the University of Caen.
Joined by franceinfo, Sabrina Agresti Roubache explains that she was actually referring to the situation in the Netherlands. In her speech to the Assembly, the MP therefore confused legalization and decriminalization. According to her, the Netherlands “are ofcame a hub of all other drugs”. “The networks of drug traffickers have converted. From cannabis to marijuana, we move on to heroin, synthetic drugs, cocaine. (…) Now we have to protect the royal family because it is threatened”she is alarmed.
The Netherlands have in fact become, together with Belgium, one of the main entry points for Latin American cocaine into Europe, according to the South African NGO Institute for Security Studies. The trial of the “Mocro Maffia”, a powerful Dutch-Moroccan cartel specializing in the trafficking of cocaine and synthetic drugs, has been held in Amsterdam since 2020. The organization generates no less than 20 billion euros in turnover per year, only in the Netherlands, according to Pieter Tops, professor at the Dutch Police Academy. A mafia that does not hesitate to attack personalities. Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Dutch Crown Princess Amalia placed under police protection, after kidnapping threats linked to the organization.
Decriminalization and legalization do not have the same effects
The decriminalization of cannabis in the Netherlands has, however, been accompanied by a positive effect: the segmentation of the narcotics markets. “They have tolerated the sale of cannabis in coffee-shops, which means that cannabis consumers do not have the opportunity to be offered cocaine, opiates”, explains Renaud Colson.
“As much as Holland failed in the field of trafficking, because it did not legalize, it succeeded in avoiding the merger of the markets.”
Renaud Colson, lecturer at the University of Caenat franceinfo
If decriminalization has shown its limits, what about legalization? This can take different forms depending on the country. It is not a question of legalizing everything without controlling, but of giving a legal framework to the fact of consuming cannabis. Thus, through regulations, the State will be able to supervise the production, distribution and access to the product.
Decriminalization and legalization do not have the same consequences. Yann Bisiou, lecturer in private law and criminal sciences at Paul-Valéry-Montpellier University explains: “ATWith decriminalization, we only remove the criminal sanction from the consumer. We are not going to solve the problem of market supply. With legalization, the state will provide the product, and trafficking will no longer be able to provide it.” Besides, the Netherlands is due to start an experimental program of legal cannabis production in October, for a period of four years. During this experiment, a handful of producers chosen by the State should provide coffee-shops in ten municipalities.
Encouraging results in Canada or Uruguay
Few countries in the world have legalized cannabis. But among those who have passed this course, “we have extremely precise studies which show that in a few years, drug trafficking tends to decrease“, argues Renaud Colson. In Canada, where cannabis was legalized in 2018, authorities observed a drop in drug offense rates in 2020 compared to the previous year (-25% for cannabis, -15% for heroin, -7% for ecstasy, -5% for methamphetamine and -2% for cocaine). This decline increased in subsequent years.
The reform has also changed consumer habits. Saccording to a the 2022 canadian government survey on cannabis61% of consumers say they buy from an authorized outlet, up from 24% in 2019. However, the Cannabis Council of Canada (CCC), an advocacy group for the cannabis industry, believes that the black market still accounts for half of sales in the country.
Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis in 2013. According to the former secretary of the National Drugs Office of Uruguay, Julio Calzada Mazzei, in ten years, this reform has removed 20 billion dollars annually to criminal organizations, and improved the quality of marijuana consumed by users. But while legalization has kept drug traffickers off the market, the majority of consumers continue to buy their supplies on the black market. In question, a legal offer deemed insufficient.
Five years after full legalization in California, the black market is far from being eradicated. The weight of the underground economy has remained stable, around 8 billion dollars a year, according to the American firm Global Go Analytics, specializing in data around cannabis. Tom Adams, CEO of the firm, blames this phenomenon on excessive taxes and regulations.
EU calls for less severe sanctions
France, second largest consumer of cannabis in Europe with approximately 5 million regular users per year, according to the OFDT, does not seem ready to follow the path of legalization. On the contrary: after the tort fixed fine (AFD), implemented in 2020, Gérald Darmanin is considering new measures to further punish users. “The increase in the penalties of this fine is undoubtedly on the agenda”declared the Minister of the Interior on April 5 on BFMTV.
“You can’t dry up the traffic in a situation where consumers have no other access to the product than through illegal transactions. Legalization is the only way to do that,” believes Renaud Colson. Lawyer warns of increased repression : “With severe traffic suppression, you will have tension, more settling of accounts, more violence in commercial exchanges.”
What about a common European policy? In 2018, the Council of the European Union encouraged the Twenty-Seven to put in place alternatives to “coercive sanctions” towards drug users. The European institution reiterated its message in 2022, in a new reportadvocating policies that “place the human rights at the center of the fight against drugs”.