A survey conducted throughout France, and still ongoing, indicates that 53% of psychiatrists are in favor of the legalization of cannabis among the 400 professionals questioned.
Léa Leclerc, addictologist psychiatrist and head of the addictology units of the Southern HCL Hospital Group, within the Lyon University Addiction Service, is currently investigating the issue.
” What is interesting, explains Léa Leclerc, it is to observe the reasons they invoke. Psychiatrists in favor of legalization argue that the current system, based on repression, is unsatisfactory because it does not allow for prevention. »
As for the psychiatrists unfavorable to any legalization, their argument is based on their “fear of impacts on health and the potential societal damage caused, such as increased violence, road accidents, school dropout…” she explains.
Doctors also mention the fact that minors are more exposed to regular consumption than if it were supervised. They then fear the amplification of neurological problems associated with cannabis consumption and its impact on the health of young people and their place in society. The unregulated consumption of cannabis is also, for these psychiatrists, responsible for many school dropouts and road accidents among young drivers.
Of the 400 respondents, 77% of psychiatrists surveyed are also in favor of the legalization of medical cannabis. The PsyCan survey has already been awarded the “Prize for best oral communication” at the L’Encephale congress, the main French-speaking psychiatry congress, which met from January 19 to 21.
