A French consultation on marijuana legalization has passed 200,000 responses since it launched on Jan. 13th.
According to Marijuana Business Daily, it has already gathered 200,354 responses.
While the consultation is not expected to prompt a near-term legislative change, a positive outcome could ease concerns for some politicians over potential reform ahead of the 2022 elections.
“The numbers will be used to legitimize the content of a report on adult-use cannabis that Parliament is working on to propose several scenarios of legalization,” said Benjamin-Alexandre Jeanroy to MJBizDaily. Jeanroy is the CEO of Augur Associates, a marijuana consultancy firm in Paris.
“The fact that is being led by (President Emmanuel) Macron’s party makes it the perfect vessel for Macron to integrate it in the 2022 presidential program,” Jeanroy said.
“We are confident about the success of (the consultation),” Caroline Janvier, a member of Macron’s political party and the National Assembly, told MJBizDaily.
A group of 33 members of parliament from across the political spectrum initiated the consultation.
“Our primary goal on cannabis is to succeed in changing the terms of the debate. Many politicians don’t think of it as much of an issue,” Janvier said.
“This survey might confirm our intuition that the general public’s expectations (on legalizing and regulating recreational cannabis) go further than (those of) French politicians.”
As part of the questionnaire, respondent are asked if they believe the current system is effective in the fight against cannabis trafficking and illicit use.
The consultation is open until Feb. 28.
“France spends around 600 million euros ($930 million) per year on the fight against cannabis trafficking,” Janvier told MJBizDaily. According to him, “trafficking increased by 300% since 2000 according to a confidential police report.”
“The number of consumers is also increasing: Today, nearly half of the French population has tried smoking cannabis in their life. Cannabis is widely consumed across the country, with the highest number of consumers in the European Union, while our legislation is among the most repressive in the EU.”
