"Legalizing Cannabis in France": A New Book Reopens the Cannabis Debate: Between Public Health and Tackling the Black Market

Despite the continued ban on cannabis in France, the country still records some of the highest consumption rates in Europe, with one in two adults aged 18 to 64 reporting in 2023 that they had used cannabis at least once. Against this backdrop, the debate persists between defenders of prohibition and proponents of legalization, who see it as a way to regulate consumption, reduce health harms, and combat illicit trafficking networks.

In this context, a book titled «Legalizing Cannabis in France: What Are the Impacts on Consumers and Society?» has been published. It is a collective work supervised by researcher and sociologist Sarah Perrin from the Émile Durkheim Centre, in collaboration with Kaëlig Boireau, a student specializing in the management of health and social institutions. The book seeks to move beyond the traditional debate over the principle of legalization itself, focusing instead on the social, legal, and health impacts of the various possible models for regulating the sector.

Legalization Does Not Necessarily Mean Full Liberalization

The authors emphasize that the concept of legalization is not limited to legally permitting consumption, but encompasses multiple regulatory options ranging from subjecting the market to private operators, establishing a state monopoly, or adopting cooperative models, to limited, strictly controlled experiments.

Canadian researcher François Gagnon, a specialist in drug policy, notes that international experiences do not offer a single model, but rather reveal diverse approaches reflecting different balances between market logic and public health requirements.

A system designed to eradicate the black market seeks to provide a legal, attractive, and accessible product to consumers, whereas protecting public health requires restricting promotional efforts and limiting product appeal, which can create a conflict between the two objectives.

Lessons from the US Experience

The book examines the experience of the US state of Colorado, one of the first jurisdictions to legalize adult-use cannabis. Legalization led to the emergence of a broad legal market, contributing to higher tax revenues and the creation of new employment opportunities.

However, the authors warn of the potential side effects of certain regulatory choices. High taxes may drive a segment of consumers to continue turning to the illicit market, while limited or cost-prohibitive licensing can concentrate economic activity in the hands of a few players, paving the way for monopolization.

The book argues that legalization does not eliminate market mechanisms; rather, it reshapes them within a new legal framework that may at times entrench existing economic imbalances.

Morocco as a Model of Partial Legalization

Among the experiences covered in the work is that of Morocco, which has permitted the cultivation and exploitation of cannabis for medical and industrial purposes since 2021, while maintaining the criminalization of recreational use.

Researcher Kenza Afsahi explains that this experience created a new legal sector without leading to the disappearance of the traditional consumption market.
She adds that partial legalization does not automatically resolve the question of who has the right to produce, sell, or economically benefit from the sector; rather, it redraws the boundaries between licit and illicit activities.

Consumers Are Not a Monolithic Group

Drawing on a comparison between France and the Canadian province of Quebec, Sarah Perrin stresses that cannabis consumers do not form a homogeneous social group. Modes of consumption, motivations, and social circumstances vary from person to person, as do the impacts of prohibition on them.

According to this perspective, the debate should not be confined solely to whether cannabis can be legally purchased; it must also encompass access to information, healthcare services, protective mechanisms, and supportive care.

Public Health at the Core of the Debate

The health dimension represents one of the book's primary axes. Addiction psychiatrist Marc Auriacombe and researcher Fauchier Serre emphasize the necessity of distinguishing between use and addiction, reiterating that using a substance with addictive properties does not automatically signify developing an addiction.

Conversely, the authors do not overlook the established risks associated with cannabis, such as impacts on memory, attention, and reaction speed, in addition to an increased likelihood of anxiety, psychotic episodes, and dependence, especially with frequent or early-onset consumption.

The book argues that public responses must accommodate diverse needs across prevention, awareness, harm reduction, and treatment, rather than relying exclusively on a framework of prohibition and punishment. It also warns that the social stigma stemming from prohibition can prevent some consumers from seeking help or accessing support services.

Criticisms of Punitive Policy

On the legal front, former magistrate Kim Reuflet examines the limitations of the fixed fine system imposed for drug-use offenses, which has become a central instrument in French policy aimed at curbing consumption.

Data cited in the book indicates that 161,000 fixed fines were issued in 2023 in France for offenses related to the use of various types of illicit drugs.
These penalties are imposed directly by police and gendarmerie officers without prior judicial review, which Reuflet considers an insufficient form of judicial oversight.

The judge also raises questions regarding the consistency of enforcement across different regions, given the limited resources available to public prosecutors to effectively oversee their execution.

Calls for Field Experiments Before Any Comprehensive Decision

In the book's conclusion, Kaëlig Boireau urges against treating legalization as an end in itself, but rather as a regulatory tool that should serve clear objectives, foremost among them the reduction of health and social harms.

He proposes adopting an adaptable pilot model subject to continuous evaluation, drawing inspiration from ongoing trials in Switzerland, which authorized experimental pilot projects to test legal cannabis sales channels before deciding on any broader rollout.

Questions Without Final Answers

Despite the range of scientific, legal, and economic contributions, the book does not claim to hold definitive solutions to all the dilemmas raised.
Fundamental questions remain unanswered, including how to set prices to compete with the black market without encouraging consumption, the role of independent producers, the boundaries of product regulation and permissible THC levels, and how to prevent commercial interests from compromising public health goals.

In this regard, the primary value of the book lies in shifting the debate from the question of "Should cannabis be legalized or not?" to a deeper inquiry into what kind of public policy is needed, what guarantees must be provided, and what objectives any potential legalization process in France should accomplish.

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