First International Cannabis Day Conference, Paris June 18 1993 [excerpts from a report by Dale Gieringer, California NORML].

Anti-prohibitionists from around the Western world convened for the first French conference on marijuana reform. hosted by CIRC (Collectif d'Information et de Recherche Cannabique) and Editions du Lézard, publisher of French drug books.

The delegations came from USA (Dr. Thomas Szasz, several NORML representatives), Netherlands (Erik Fromberg), Enagland (Dr. John Marks), Germany (Werner Schneider), Italy (Marco Taradash), Spain, Belgium, Switzerland and France (Francis Caballero, Georges Apap, Jean-Pierre Galland).

The conference came at a time of heightened public interest in cannabis and drug policy in France. A couple days before the meeting, a new French reform group, the Movement for Controlled Legalization (MCL), devoted to legaization of both hard and soft drugs, announced its formation. A week later, the new conservative Minister of Interior, Charles Pasqua, called for a national debate on the decriminalization of soft drugs. The French media are full of stories about cannabis and soft drugs, whose use is said to be growing among youth and urban intellectuals.

The conference was attended by an enthusiastic audience, which applauded appreciatively as panelist attacked current laws as a violation of human rights.

Unfortunately, conferees failed to agree on a conference manifesto due to diasgreement over wheter to include hard drugs with marijuana.

Conference proceedings, in French only, are available from Editions du Lézard, 9 Passage Dagorno, Paris 75020, Fax 40.09.69.71.

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THE PARIS RESOLUTION (as drafted by J. Marks, T. Szasz, E. Fromberg)

Every adult individual in the world has the right to decide about his/her body and mind, as guaranteed by the Universal Charter of Human Rights. Thus, the right to use drugs to influence one's body and mind is a basic human right.

Current international drug treaties are interpreted by national governments as prohibiting the use of certain drugs. The claim that drug prohibition is beneficial for society has no scientific support, however drug prohibition has a harmful effect on public health by interfering with the availability of unadultered drugs and it is clearly established that such prohibition is a powerful stimulus to criminal activity, even to the point of destabilizing governments.

Accordingly, being an international forum, we urge repeal of prohibition and petition governments to secure a legal framework for all human beings to use the drugs of their choice.

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