the mayor of Bègles wants to experiment with a real prevention policy

Bègles, in Gironde, wants to be a test city for the consumption, sale and production of cannabis. The mayor believes that a very framed legalization is the only way to reduce consumption. And to avoid deviations. He wants to lift the taboo and relaunch the debate.

“Decriminalize cannabis? It’s a great idea, in other countries it’s been a long time since we made this progress“Enthuses a Béglaise questioned about the latest initiative of its mayor, Clément Rossignol-Puech.

“I suggest to Emmanuel Macron to make my municipality Begles in Gironde the first territory of experimentation for the culture, the sale and the supervised consumption of cannabis recreational“, he tweeted on January 25.

“The debate is not carried in French society, there is a taboo while solutions exist to reduce consumption and traffic” explains Clément Rossignol-Puech. “These solutions involve decriminalization“.

The Girondin elected official relies on the latest report from the Economic, Social and Environmental Council published on January 24, 2023 which is very clearly in favor of a “framed legalization of the so-called recreational uses of cannabis”.

“We are a number of local elected officials who see the ravages of these drugs among young and old, in the neighborhoods. We manage the problems of trafficking on a daily basis. We want this to stop” says the mayor who hopes, with his very controversial initiative, to revive the debate.

As an addiction specialist and director of CEID, the Study and Information Committee on Drugs and Addictionsand President of the Addiction Federationthe psychiatrist Jean-Michel Delile says to himself in favor of decriminalization on the condition that it be closely supervised.

“Cannabis poses a real public health problem, we have nearly a million daily users in France, it’s considerable” he points out. “Its effects are very deleterious and very dangerous in young people. But we also have a negative impact in terms of road accidents, work, safety”.

He feels he “It is important to reopen the debate because we are well aware of the limits of the current system”.

There is no question of legalizing it without putting in place very strict regulations. Because “the more accessible a product is, the more likely it is to be consumed“ warns Jean-Michel Delile.

He emphasizes the importance of maintain a ban for minors and young adults.

It is among 16 – 21 year olds that the use of cannabis is the most harmful

Jean-Michel Delile – psychiatrist specializing in addictions

at France 3 Aquitaine

“It is among 16-21 year olds that the use of cannabis is the most damaging on a cognitive, intellectual, psychological and even psychiatric level. It is inconceivable to give them free access”.

The president of the Addictions Federation gives the example of North America where, in some states, the legalization of cannabis has been in force for about ten years. “The eastern states of the United States and Quebec, Canada, show thatwith control, we can have beneficial effects in economic terms, bring people out of the shadows of the black market, mafias, trafficking while limiting the negative effects in terms of health public“.

Clément Rossignol-Puech affirms that, precisely, in these countries and also closer to us, in Holland, Spain or Italy, decriminalization has made it possible to lower consumption.

“There are real prevention policies in these countries, because it is legal. Here, it’s a taboo, we don’t talk about it“. Of the “poster campaigns, advertising in the media to explain the dangers of cannabis consumption would thus be possible“, argues the mayor of Bègles. “Legalization would also make it possible to offer products regulated in terms of THC concentration levels. So consumption would decrease and the products would be less toxic“.

Jean-Michel Delile approves. “Even if everything will not go back to normal with such a measure, it would undoubtedly make it possible to have easier, more transparent access to care. Today, addicted consumers are stigmatized and must hide because of the criminal prohibition“.

“In any case, the solution at all repressive does not work” summarizes Clément Rossignol Puech. “France has the most repressive legislation in Europe and the largest number of consumers. We can see that there is a problem“.

He hopes that Emmanuel Macron and his government will take his proposal into account. “I am waiting for an answer, I would like to be able to discuss with the ministers, I am at their disposal“.

Article written from reactions and images collected by Antoine Allart and Pauline Juvigny. See their report: