Two (very different) locations in the world are inching their way towards legal weed.
First is France, although they are further away than what the news initially signifies. A bill to legalize cannabis in the country will be debated on Thursday of this week, the 13th. The government, however, remains in opposition to legal marijuana, so this will inevitably lead to its rejection.
The recent legalization in Germany has brought the issue back up to the surface for France, and the debate surrounding it won’t be going anywhere. With an upcoming Presidential election, marijuana will remain a talking point for the country.
For the first time since the 1970’s, a majority of the country (I mean, 51%, but still) is in favor of marijuana decriminalization.
Things are looking much better in Austin, Texas, where an organization has garnered enough signatures to get marijuana decriminalization onto the ballot in a May election this year. The police department in the city has already drastically reduced their policing around marijuana, this would eliminate misdemeanors entirely.
Austin is a progressive bubble within a conservative state, so this vote will likely turn out in the favor of decriminalization. We’ll find out for sure on May 7th.
Read the France story here, and the Austin story here.
