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Newsbrief:
French
Cannabis
Activist
Faces
Jail
for
"Encouraging
Drug
Use"
2/21/03
A leading member of the French
pro-pot group Cannabis Research and Information Collective (http://www.circ-asso.org)
was placed under formal investigation for encouraging drug use early this
month after police raided his shop and found cannabis seeds, growing equipment,
and T-shirts bearing the logo "In France, it's illegal to say cannabis
is good" being offered for sale. Stephane Karscher, who operates
the "Bad Seed" shop in Montpelier, faces a possible jail sentence under
French laws barring the advocacy of marijuana use.
In 1998, CIRC founder Jean-Pierre
Galland was fined 50,000 francs ($8,300) after CIRC sent a joint to every
member of parliament in hopes of spurring a debate on cannabis law reform.
Karscher was involved in that effort, but escaped punishment.
The arrest comes in the midst
of a crackdown on drugs and drug advocacy by the conservative French government
of President Jacques Chirac and Interior Minister Nicholas Sarkozy.
Since Chirac and Sarkozy took office last fall, the country has passed
tough new drugged driving legislation, vowed to crackdown on electronic
music festivals, and expressed grave concern about the growing popularity
of cannabis. According to French government data, approximately one
out of every four French adults have used cannabis.
Karscher told the newspaper
Liberation (Paris) on Wednesday that police were looking for any excuse
to arrest him. "They take everything at face value. It's a
pretext to ban any debate on cannabis," Karscher said.
-- END --
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Issue #275, 2/21/03
Out from the Shadows: First Latin American Anti-Prohibition Summit Convenes in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico | Mérida Interview: María Mercedes Moreno of Mama Coca | Mérida Interview: Luiz Paulo Guanabara, Brazil, Executive Director of Psico-Tropicus | Rosenthal Verdict Fallout: Angry Jurors, Media Attention, a New Bill in Congress | Victory for Bolivian Coca-Growers Imminent, Reports Say Government Will Allow Coca in the Chapare | Thailand War on Drugs Turns Murderous, 600 Killed This Month -- Human Rights Groups Denounce Death Squads, Executions | Peoria Needle Lady Busted in Pekin, But Charges Later Dropped | Drug Czar's Office Masks TRUE Costs of War on Drugs in Federal Budget | Newsbrief: DEA Kills 14-Year-Old Girl in San Antonio, Claims Self Defense | Newsbrief: US Spooks Killed, Captured in Colombia | Newsbrief: French Cannabis Activist Faces Jail for "Encouraging Drug Use" | Newsbrief: Corrupt Cop of the Week I | Newsbrief: Corrupt Cop of the Week II | Newsbrief: Oklahoma Report Urges Sanity in Sentencing | DC Job Opportunity at DRCNet -- Campus Coordinator | The Reformer's Calendar
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