Marijuana Legalization In Europe: Is France Next?

Cecilia Rodriguez

Marijiuana, a divisive issue that normally resurfaces in Europe during election campaigns, has come home to France's hotly-contested presidential race.

The 15th World March for Cannabis in Paris calling for legalization in 2016     Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard AFP/Getty Images

With eight months to go until the 2017 French presidential election, marijuana - or cannabis, as the French prefer to call it - is an honored guest meme in the candidates' discourse, and a subject of intense controversy among the French electorate.

But hold on. The political debate is less about interdiction or legalization but, rather, about the nuances of what many are calling “an unavoidable course:” complete legalization or mere decriminalization.

French demonstrations for marijuana legalization in Paris    Photo: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images

European legislation echoes international law barring consumption of narcotic drugs, although countries can choose whether or not to sanction its use. That detail has given rise to rather peculiar ways to dance around the law, or between the two alternatives.

Decriminalization means that the use or possession of cannabis is not a criminal offence but the production and commercialization continue to be outlawed, as in the Netherlands.

Police and members of a specialized team clear up a weed plantation with 18,000 plants in the Netherlands near the German border   Photo: Marcel Van Hoorn/AFP/Getty Images