For or against drugs: 50 years of a French paradox

Since 1970, drug policies in France have been framed in the public sphere as “for or against drugs,” despite the discomfort this formulation causes among professionals. Most specialists would like to see the use of psychotropic drugs removed from this awkward framing, but the more they try to escape the moral debate, the more it returns, taking detours via the fight against AIDS, the condemnation of drug trafficking, or the therapeutic use of substances. But perhaps the moral question lies at the heart of a “French paradox,” hidden behind the hypocritical mask of science or the law. Are drugs bad or are they good? This question continues to plague our attempts to rationalize a debate that is at once a political issue, a public health concern, and a way of presenting ourselves to the world.