As Germany authorises the consumption and cultivation of cannabis from 1 April, the mayor of Strasbourg is calling for the introduction of a local 'experiment' to move away from France's repressive approach to marijuana.
According to Mayor Jeanne Barseghian: "In a shared catchment area, we are going to have two different sets of regulations, almost diametrically opposed, between Germany, which authorises the recreational use of cannabis, and France, which has one of the most repressive sets of laws in Europe".
"Obviously, this raises questions," she told French news agency AFP, "and it's bound to raise questions among the population", stressing the flow of people and commerce between the two countries via Strasbourg – a border town whose transport network extends across the Rhine and leads many users to travel there on a daily basis to work or do their shopping.
"The fact that a European country like Germany, which is committed to public order and public health, has decided to change its legislation clearly shows that a purely repressive policy did not seem satisfactory or effective. In my opinion, this should provide food for thought" about French policy choices in this area.
She cites figures from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, according to which 47 percent of French adults say they have already used cannabis, a higher figure than in any other EU country.
France has 5 million cannabis users, according to the French Drugs Observatory.
"As the mayor of a large city, I am confronted on a daily basis with calls from residents who are legitimately concerned about [drug] trafficking, which generates feelings of insecurity, and even delinquency and a parallel economy", she says.
Cannabis : la maire de Strasbourg souhaite une expérimentation locale https://t.co/nUxWut9k5Y
— Journal L'Alsace (@lalsace) March 30, 2024
No coffee shops
Barseghian is keeping a close eye on changes in German legislation and their possible consequences on the French side of the border.
"This has been a point of attention for over a year. Together with the mayor of Kehl [a neighbouring German town], we took the initiative of calling on the German authorities to consider cross-border areas like ours", she explains.
The new law, passed by the Bundestag at the end of February, authorises people living in Germany for at least six months to grow up to three plants at home for their own use, or to buy up to 50 grammes of dried cannabis per month from the new "Cannabis Club" non-profit associations.
"It's going to be very tightly controlled, much less permissive than in the Netherlands," says Barseghian.
"These clubs will not be places where people consume cannabis, there will be no coffee shops", she insists.
Pioneering city
The mayor believes it would be interesting to launch a cannabis experiment on a local, cross-border scale, which would enable the authorities in Strasbourg to test what is going to be implemented on the German side of the border.
She defends this approach by highlighting the experience and local know-how in the field of prevention and support for drug users, Strasbourg and Paris being the only two cities in France to have two low-risk drug consumption rooms.
"The city of Strasbourg has been a pioneer in harm reduction and the fight against addiction for several mandates now, with a policy that has set an example at national, European and international level", she points out.
"We have a whole ecosystem of associations, doctors and elected representatives who see this issue not in terms of repression, but in terms of health: a person in a situation of addiction is a public health problem, and we need to be able to support them to get out of addiction".
However, the launch such an experiment is not up to the local authorities and Barseghian is hoping to find support on a national level and is counting on the Treaty of Aachen – signed in 2019 between France and Germany – which authorises "waivers" for the implementation of cross-border projects, particularly in the field of health.
