This is not a joke or a Goraf article, but a real proposal presented by Sébastien Delogu, the LFI MP for Bouches-du-Rhône, in a podcast he recorded. If cannabis is legalized, he suggests the state allow convicted drug dealers to open cannabis shops. Even more surprisingly, he apologizes to France for imprisoning them. A form of restorative justice that is confusing.
For Delogu, traffickers have a unique experience: “they only know how to do it, sell drugs.” So why not turn that experience into an entrepreneurial asset? An idea presented as progressive, however, raises questions. Should we really be rewarding the illegalities of the past by entrusting them with an emerging and legal sector?
And that's not all. According to the MP, the country should also regret that it has punished crimes that were, let's remember, illegal. A vision where yesterday's crime becomes not only legal, but almost worthy. What message does this send to those who are law abiding and trying to deal with it?
While the legalization of cannabis is a legitimate debate, trusting this market to ex-offenders for the sake of so-called reintegration is deeply divisive. The question is not only economic, but also moral: should we erase the line between legality and illegality to create a new order?
In Sébastien Delog's dream world, yesterday's dealers would be tomorrow's bosses. An idea that, under the guise of progress, can disorient a society seeking coherence and justice.
France
