French cannabis legalization debate ignores race, religion and the mass incarceration of Muslims

Evidence suggests that cannabis prohibition over the past 50 years has disproportionately punished France’s Muslim minority
The Conversation (US)
Wednesday, August 7, 2019

Last summer in France, dozens of “CBD cafés” suddenly opened across the country. Exploiting a legal loophole originally created for hemp farmers, these pop-up businesses sold queuing customers oils, drinks and salves infused with cannabidiol, a cannabis compound that is a faddish if unproven “cure” for insomnia, anxiety and more. The French government reacted quickly and by mid-June had officially prohibited the sale of CBD. The CBD cafés vanished within a month. But France’s brief experiment with cannabidiol seems to have started a movement to legalize cannabis, which has been illegal since 1970.