How can a country reconcile being one of the world’s biggest cannabis consumers and still be opposed to cannabis legalization? That’s something we can learn by observing France. As a French citizen, I would like to share some insight about my country’s unique marijuana culture. France is the European Union’s single biggest consumer of cannabis, with nearly 41% of the population aged 15-64 admitting to using it, including 39% of high-schoolers. More than 22% of young adults use cannabis regularly.
Although marijuana has a billion-dollar black market in France, most young cannabis users report getting at least some of their cannabis for free, be it through family—yes, parents accompanying their kids on their first trip is a tradition there—or via shared blunts (rolled cannabis cigarettes) with friends, according to the French Observatory of Drugs and Addiction (OFDT).
Map of cannabis use in Europe
It is an understood part of life in France that everyone smokes to some degree, be it tobacco or marijuana. I haven’t seen a single rolled cigarette in my time in the U.S., but you can hardly go a single day without seeing at least a dozen of them in France—most of which are probably blunts, even in public.
That is not to say that French people accept cannabis; in fact, more than half of the population opposes both the legalization and depenalization of its use, and marijuana is strictly illegal under French law—consuming it is punishable by up to one year in prison and a hefty fine. However, judges can choose to replace the sentence with medical treatment. If a judge deems a cannabis user needs help instead of punishment, this person will be ordered to follow a tailored medical program to help them recover from addiction, which can include therapy and regular checks on the person’s welfare.
In general, France wants to keep drug users safe rather than in prison. In 2015, more than 40% of all people admitted to a rehab facility in France used marijuana exclusively—as opposed to 14% of such people in the U.S. Cannabis users can be exonerated of their “crime” if they come forward and talk to medical professionals about their drug habits.
Recently, two “shooting galleries” have opened in French hospitals, where someone with a drug addiction problem can come with their illegal drugs—including heroin and methamphetamine—and they cannot be held accountable for the drugs they consume within the galleries. On-site doctors and social workers provide them with clean syringes and support, and they ensure their safety during the trip.
Unlike the U.S., where in most places cannabis is still violently repressed, and its possessors and users imprisoned, France strongly favors rehabilitation before punishment. Since 1999, French law has required that medical professionals weigh in at every step of the legal process when a cannabis user is arrested, in order to determine the best course of action. As a result, only a tiny minority of drug users actually end up in a French prison.
In the U.S., the nonprofit Drug Policy Alliance found that roughly 30% of drug-related arrests lead to incarceration. In France, 200,000 people were arrested in 2013 for drug possession, 33,650 people were sentenced by a judge to fines, medical treatment or another outcome, of which only 1,400 were actually imprisoned. That amounts to less than 1% of all arrests.
