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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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French plans to change drug law anger pot-smokers
Reuters
Monday 15 Sep 2003 PARIS, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Pro-cannabis groups poured scorn on France's conservative government on Monday for planning to bring in harsh fines for occasional pot-smokers to replace the existing -- rarely enforced -- sanction of jail sentences. "This is ultra-reactionary," said Jean-Pierre Galland, founder of the underground pro-cannabis lobby group CIRC. "At the moment, many policemen don't do anything if they see some young person smoking a joint. But under the new plans, it would be much easier to hand out harsh fines," he said. In 2001, police prosecuted only eight percent of the drug users they stopped under the 33-year-old drug law, down from 30 percent in 1990. Media reports said the new rules could hit small users with fines of up to 1,500 euros ($1,690) and the confiscation of property such as their mobile phones or motorbikes. Other countries have taken a more relaxed approach, with a new British policy effectively leaving people free to enjoy the drug in private and the Netherlands making cannabis available as a prescription drug in pharmacies to treat certain illnesses. "Most of our European neighbours also have a system which defines clearly how much cannabis someone is allowed to possess for personal usage. This does not exist in France," said Alain Morel, president of the French Addictology Federation.
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