Four pillars to reform the drugs policy

This new model, compatible with the orientations of the Catania report, is very much inspired by the Swiss report psychoaktiv.ch which proposes to anchor the drugs policy to four super pillars: Prevention, Harm reduction, Health, Repression.

This framework included:
 1. The depenalisation of the use of all substances replaced by a socio-medical orientation of the problematic users.
 2. Medical education to the reasonable use of the psychoactive substances.
 3. Information on the addictives conduits and the general phenomenon of addiction.
 4. The tracking and treatment of the problematic users.
 5. Harm reduction including first line devices like the consumption rooms or the anonymous testing of products.
 6. Treatments including the substitution extended to the injectable shape with heroin or not, to the other opiate like laudanum and other products that opiates.
 7. Promotion and assistance with the abstinence.
 8. The repression of the unacceptable risks like driving car, incompatible activities (as hunting, the control of factories machines or buses, trains, planes.), public harmful effects, aggressiveness and violence under the influence... illicit sale, illegal production, not declared sale, international traffic, money laundering.
 9. Regulation of the access to the substances:
— a. Free Access with warning for caffeine, quinine, theine...
— b. Access restricted to 16 years with restrictive rules of marketing and consumption, total prohibition of publicity and active policy of prevention, for light alcohol, the tobacco, the cannabis sativa.
— c. Access restricted to 18 years for strong alcohol the cannabis indica and gambling
— d. Simple medicalized access for the pharmaceutical psychotropic like benzodiazepines, under protocol of substitution widened with other galenic forms and other substances for the psychotropic causing an addiction like methadone.
— e. illegal Access for all the substances excluded from the regulation but monitoring and HR on the purchase and consumption scenes.

This pragmatic approach reflects not only the analysis of the Swiss experts but it is based on research in prevention and HR of many international researchers and on the experiments of speakers in drug-addiction of country like the Netherlands, Canada, Portugal...

By adding the right to the self-production of all the plants without trading and the free use of the drugs plants for non illicit uses, this project will rejoin the users, DPR and certain altermondialists organizations.

To finish with the cannabis black market

The production and the co-operative distribution of the cannabis would provide directly much full-time, partial or seasonal employment. The wages and the taxes on this market will integrate billion euros in the official economy, thus constituting an undeniable growth promoter. The young and the least young users of cannabis would not have any more the impression to be patients under supervision or criminals. It is necessary to change the legal statute of the cannabis. How to pass from a total prohibition to a regulation of the market protecting health and public safety while guaranteeing a very positive socio-economic impact ?

Minimum service: the depenalisation

Without breaking its international engagements nor to upset European balance on drug, any country can depenalised immediately the private consumption of cannabis and tolerate the public possession of 10g, the private possession and the production of reasonable quantities for consumption, for example 500g of stock and culture of 5 plants per adult. As for the tobacco, consumption in the public places accessible to the minors and not having non smokers spaces must be proscribed. It would also be necessary to tolerate the sale of seeds and cuttings to facilitate the self-production and thus to minimize the share of the black market especially of importation. The cannabis and its derivatives will have to also reinstate the legal table of the drugs with a legal status for therapeutic cannabis.

Why regulate ?

The depenalisation of consumption (with tolerance of the self-production) is only one measurement of accompaniment of this social mass phenomenon. It replaces the cannabis in the private sphere, lowers the police and social pressure especially on youth, it supports a constructive dialogue on the public health. It decreases but does not make disappear the parallel economy, the escape from dirty money, the control of the production and the distribution by gangs and criminal organizations. Indeed, the majority of the consumers does not have the possibility of cultivating her cannabis. These measurements would be very well perceived by middle-class youth and the rural ones. The young people of suburbs would escape from cannabis hunting, it is already much, but they will be always under the temptation of cannabis dealing.

Which legal status for the cannabis ?

This new model must translate the idea that the consumption of cannabis, even if it constitutes a relative danger to the user, must be tolerated as a long time as it concerns the private life and does not disturb the law and order. This is why trade like the tobaccos, the bars and even the Swiss hemp stores or the Dutch coffee shops are too visible, too inciting. They support the criticism of laxism, bad signal for youth, cannabis free sale on supermarket and other negative images associated a too permissive statute.

The general system should not merge either with the therapeutic distribution of cannabis, one cannot put in medicine the million reasonable users, it is a hypocrisy. In any way, the pharmacists are not enthusiastic with the idea to daily manage this population and the laboratories prefer to work with expensive pseudo-synthetic patented versions rather than with plants. The majority of the users would very badly perceive to pass from criminal to patient. The most reasonable solution would be the collectivization of the tolerance of personal production. Associations with non lucrative goal could gather the users who cannot cultivate themselves and empower to ensure this production. This non commercial system would allow however the creation of many jobs. It circumvents the obstacle of the International Conventions which prohibit the trade and import-export.

Co-operative of production

Associations will be able to produce directly for their members or to buy to approved producers. The exemptions for the production of hemp rich in THC will be firstly granted to strictly biological agriculture then to reasoned one. A commission made up of scientists, representatives of the ministries, producers and users will have to establish medical standards and manufacturing processes acceptable for human consumption. Not to fall under conventions prohibiting the international trade, the production will be made on the territory of each state.

An organization of control will carry out the analyses and the investigations guaranteeing the integrity of the market. The police force, the gendarmerie and the tax authorities will preserve a repressive role on the smuggling and non-observance of the rules of tolerance.

Consumers social clubs

These associations will be able to open clubs of consumers in non exposed to passers places without external publicity. These places open of 18h to midnight in week and 2h the W.E, reserved to the members, will be able to distribute the cannabis reserved by the contributions. Each member receives a chip card with units corresponding to his cannabis credit with annual or monthly maximum. This quota could be flexible according to the age of adhering. To cut the propagation of consumption by imitation towards young people and to pacified the streets, it is advisable to authorize the inscription as from 16 years. It is coherent compared to the bar and beer rules, compared to the average age of the users. On the other hand, one could limit the quantity to 30 grams per month up to 18 years, 60 G up to 21 years and 100 G beyond that. This in order to limit excesses and the black market towards the children or of the narcotourists. Adhesions will include an exceptional contribution for the prevention and the social and health system. These private users circles will be also able to offer to their members a free space to the consumption of cannabis, in exchange of strict separation of the narcotics markets and consumption, of a policy of fight against road violence, tracking the problematic users to direct them towards the structures of prevention and assistance. Associations will have to respect a schedule of conditions: the alcohol sale and consumption will be prohibited, obligation of provision of vaporizers and prevention campaigns against smoke and other medical topics, free consumption for the abstemious drivers, organizing a system of placed at the disposal of drivers, prevention of violence. The authorities will be able to limit the number and the storage areas of clubs according to requirements of law and order.

Socio-economic benefit

This system would create on all the territory of tens of thousands of not qualified employments in the production, conditioning, the safety and the distribution. The ethnic minorities know often better this market and these products, they should provide excellent employees without criteria of discrimination. Clubs could open into zones private of places for the social life by the hygienist policy like suburbs. The benefit of an associative system would be sufficient to feed a medical policy of education including an objective prevention and the reduction of the risks related to the use of all drugs. This system would include the detection and the socio-medical assistance of the abusive users and their families. It would undoubtedly remain enough of funds to finance local sociocultural animation.

Laurent Appel