Police support fines plan for cannabis possession

A €100 fine could replace costly court cases for cannabis possession within 'three to four months', new Interior Minister Gérard Collomb has said.

He told news broadcaster BFMTV that, under proposed rules, those caught with small amounts of the drug for personal use will receive a fine of up to €100 and no further prosecution.

Mr Collumb’s office told AFP that the plan - a campaign pledge of President Emmanuel Macron - would be launched 'without delay'.

The announcement was welcomed by police union Unsa. Spokesman Philippe Capon said: "The minister, in applying this long-standing trade union demand, is responding to a strong demand for simplification and lightening of work, without sacrificing efficiency."

The union said that the current 'procedures concerning drug users have hitherto been too cumbersome in view of criminal sanctions and too time-consuming for police services', and they, 'have never demonstrated the least effectiveness in the fight against trafficking'.

Pro-cannabis groups have long called for a change to a 1970 law that imposes a fine of €3,750 and up to a year in prison for the use and possession of cannabis. In practice, prison sentences are rare, though the courts regularly impose the fines.

In 2014, 17 million people said they had used cannabis in the past and an estimated 700,000 would use it daily, according to the French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction.