In an agreement of cooperation, signedat the close of the conference by mayor Brard and the ECDP, it has beenlaid down that ECDP will support the French network of cities in theirattempt to achieve a local drug policy in the spirit of harm reduction. A formal adhesion of the French cities to the network of the ECDP is plannedfor the end of the decade. The French Minister of Health, BernardKouchner, who was present at the second day of the conference supportedboth the necessary modification of the French drug laws of 1970 and thedemand that the experience and necessities of the cities should be takenmore into consideration in the national and international drug debate. The role of the cities should be strengthened. Thereformation of the law of 1970 without a fundamental renewal would be amere illusion.
Drug policy deserves more than just polemics and all tooquick reverberations.
France too often vacillates between ideology andpublic denunciation. Drug addiction is a serious problem of public healthand demands information, prevention and harm reduction. At the Conference Kouchner alos announced that the French governmentwas going to hold a nation-wide conference on the drugs issue in Decemberwhere harm reduction topics should be discussed. The Minister also promisedto support the cause of the cities and strengthen their role in the Frenchdrug debate. The French government will approvethe experimental use of cannabis in hospitals next year as a first tentativestep towards a relaxation of the country's draconian drugs laws.