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| Marijuana Makes its Entrance as Campaign Issue |
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Posted by FoM on March 26, 2002 at 13:00:15 PT By The Associated Press Source: Associated Press 
Paris - Legalizing marijuana, an issue that divides both left and right in France, began dividing the presidential candidates on Tuesday after Prime Minister Lionel Jospin said that smoking a joint at home is less dangerous than drinking and driving.The remark by Jospin, a Socialist, triggered a flurry of reaction and charges of hypocrisy from the camp of his main opponent, conservative President Jacques Chirac. "One must be clear ... you are for or against (legalizing marijuana)," said Chirac's campaign spokeswoman Roselyne Bachelot, suggesting that Jospin feared alienating voters who want marijuana legalized. "What I don't understand is the hypocrisy of what he says," she told France 2 television, adding that Jospin's statement was "convoluted." Chirac is against legalizing such products, and his position is "clear" and "precise," she added. Jospin, in answers to the French news agency Agence France-Presse that were reported in French newspapers, said he didn't want to trivialize the consumption of marijuana. However, he said that "smoking a joint at home is certainly less dangerous than drinking alcohol when driving, for oneself and for others." He also said he was opposed to decriminalizing marijuana. The issue was front-page fare Tuesday in the afternoon daily Le Monde. The paper cited a 2002 report by the Observatory on Drugs which showed that by the age of 17, 41 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys had experimented with marijuana. The camps of Chirac and Jospin — considered the two leading candidates in a field now at 17 — have almost daily finger-pointing sessions ahead of the two-round vote, set for April 21 and May 5. Several candidates have come out squarely against legalizing marijuana, like Jean-Pierre Chevenement, a former Socialist seen as a potential threat to Jospin, and centrist Francois Bayrou who criticized Jospin's "light tone" on a sensitive subject. Socialist Party spokesman Francois Hollande said that Jospin's remarks were "perfectly clear." "It's a way of saying there are lots of plagues in our country, and that we can, at times in the name of individual freedom, have pleasure ... but we must not threaten the lives of others," Hollande said. Complete Title: Marijuana Makes its Entrance as Campaign Issue after Jospin says Drinking and Driving is Worse Than a Joint Source: Associated Press Related Article: Le Monde Alcohol Impairs Driving More than Marijuana CannabisNews Cannabis Archives Home Comment Email Register Recent Comments Help |
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Comment #5 posted by Dan B on March 26, 2002 at 16:17:24 PT:
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| Canada is in the unique position of being able to influence both the British and the French. The fact is, the matter of legalization is on the debating table now in France; where was it before French and English speaking Canada began this debate? Yes, we have much to thank the Canadians for, not the least of which is bringing alternatives to draconian drug policies to the fore. I think that the Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin would be wise to make a firm stand in favor of legalizing and regulating all drugs, but especially cannabis. The faster the world realizes that the black markets it creates through prohibition laws are the source of criminal funding, the faster we can begin to move past our current system of violent bigotry and start addressing real problems, like "white collar" crime (which is nothing more than high stakes blue collar crime), forced prostitution (which is rape by proxy), and environmental desolation (which is murder by proxy). If the politicians and corporations would stop robbing, raping and killing the rest of the population, the most desperate members of the population might find better reasons to live than the next fix, the next high. And those who need currently illegal drugs in order to survive (i.e., medical marijuana patients) would no longer have to hide in fear for their lives. Now, that would be a practical solution to the "drug problem," wouldn't it? Legalize and regulate. Dan B [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #4 posted by Jose Melendez on March 26, 2002 at 15:18:52 PT:
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| Translated by http://babelfish.altavista.com
I wish you good luck, my friends [ Post Comment ] |
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Comment #3 posted by Ethan Russo MD on March 26, 2002 at 13:50:35 PT:
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| I lived in France for a year. It is a fabulous country, but if I may be so bold, they have had a problem with hypocrisy. In 1974-75 when I was there, it was not unusual to view some poor down-on-his-luck wino sitting on a park bench sustaining himself on a raw onion. Everyone drank alcohol with abandon, drove like maniacs, and maintained an existential outlook, while derogating anyone who might be involved with "la Drogue." That's right, there were not "drugs," but rather, "The Drug." All were bad, and punished severely. France has grown up, and its people with it. However, you see from this article how difficult it is for the politicians to abandon those old mindsets. Je vous souhaite bonne chance, mes amis. [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #2 posted by null on March 26, 2002 at 13:43:51 PT |
| The paper cited a 2002 report by the Observatory on Drugs which showed that by the age of 17, 41 percent of girls and 50 percent of boys had experimented with marijuana. The situation in France is similar to here in the states in that a large percentage of teens have tried marijuanna. In fact, more teens have tried marijuanna than tobacco here in the U.S. Think about that! More and more people in the know reach voting age every year. Marijuanna will be legalized in time and there isn't a thing all those old-geezer tyrannical politicians can do. HA! [Feeling impish today... no offense to my fellow cannabisnews readers who are merely older and wiser and will never be older tyrannical geezers. Anyone remember the pharse "Never trust anyone over 30" though??] [ Post Comment ] |
| Comment #1 posted by p4me on March 26, 2002 at 13:35:55 PT |
| A lot of exciting events in Europe have a hard time making it to America. Thank goodness for the internet and Cnews. From what I gather at 10 AM this morning the landlord had private security people destroy the $25,000 worth of improvements that Jimmy Ward had made to a warehouse he was renting in Bournemouth. I think 10AM is 2 PM EST. Three were arrested and the war goes on. I guess some people are keeping up with Turmel and Terry Parker. Cnews had an article I believe saying that Parker would not be subject to the MJ laws as the Ontario Court gave the government a year to make a MMJ system and they failed. The Crown has now appealled that decision and on April 3rd another motion will be made by Turmel to set aside all MJ laws in Canada because the government has never made good on the MMJ laws. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/medpot/messages [ Post Comment ] |
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