Prohibition doesn’t work, let’s legalize cannabis. At first glance, the analysis of Jeanne Barseghian, the EELV mayor of Strasbourg, seems well-founded. “France is one of the most consuming countries in Europe, despite this very security policy,” points out the councilor, like Jean-Luc Mélenchon during the last presidential election. Pretty fair observation, once again.
However, when something does not work, should we conclude that the alternative would be beneficial? Foreign examples encourage caution. In the Netherlands, decriminalization has not prevented the illegal transportation of cannabis from the Moroccan Rif. The Mocro Maffia, this group of traffickers which is currently terrorizing the flat country, to the point of forcing the main ministers and the crown princess to specific protection, comes from the importation of hashish, thanks to which it has enriched itself.
The concentration of cannabis in THC, this molecule which causes powerful psychotropic effects and promotes addiction, has more than doubled in ten years in France, notes the French Observatory of Drugs and Addictive Tendencies. If there is legalization, it can only be at lower THC levels, as in Germany. Competed by this drug “light”, traffickers will offer stronger cannabis, alongside cocaine. In Canada, legalization has also led, despite other more positive effects, to a spectacular increase in hospital admissions and road accidents linked to drugs.