French Justice Minister Willing to Discuss the Decriminalisation of Cannabis

The French Justice Minister, Christiane Taubira, has declared it "unacceptable" not to reflect on the legalisation of cannabis. Taubira made this statement in an interview in which she was asked if it was tempting to legalise marijuana, as many US states have done.

The politician said that addressing the issue is often daunting, especially due to the opinions of right-wing parties that consider it taboo, which she has described as a hypocritical attitude. She believes that an open debate is necessary, especially given that many of France's young people have tried cannabis.

Moreover, she says that she has been reading up on it for more than 20 years, although she still does not have a definite stance. In fact, in December of 2014 she spoke about legalisation and recognised that, although she didn't define herself as an activist, she was very surprised by the lack of dialogue in the country.

In November of 2014 the Socialist deputy Anne-Yvonne Le Dain called for the controlled legalisation of cannabis in the private sphere. And a few weeks ago the party Cannabis Sans Frontières proposed turning Paris into a "laboratory" for legalisation.

President François Hollande, however, has not modified any aspect of France's cannabis policy, while Prime Minister Manuel Valls, although admitting that he has consumed cannabis, has always opposed any type of legalisation, arguing that society needs rules. The last time that this politician appeared in the press in relation to marijuana was during a Parliamentary session; while the health minister spoke about the legalisation of grass, he feigned smoking a cigarette.