Background: Since the levels of cannabis use reached their peak in the 2000 decade, and more recently with the rise of psychostimulants, drug reform and policy options to combat drug criminality (‘narcotrafic’) have become highly contested topics in the public debate in France.
Objectives: The EROPP survey has been quantifying the social representations, opinions and perceptions regarding drugs and drug policies in the French adult population towards over 25 years (1999-2023), providing feedback on current policies and different drug reform options.
Methods: In the 2023 edition of EROPP (the 6th since 1999), a sample of 3 000 individuals aged 18 to 75 was selected based on quota sampling. Most of the items surveyed since 1999 were kept to guarantee continuity but new questions on hot topics and emerging issues were added. The questionnaire was administered using the CATI system. Two randomly generated telephone number sampling frames were created, the first with landline numbers (45 %), the second with mobiles (55 %).
Results and implications : In 2023, French people supported needle and syringe programs (77 %), DCRs (79 %) and harm reduction strategies (77 %). They also supported medical cannabis legalization (85 %). Although a majority considered the current legal framework underperformant (57 %), they strongly opposed decriminalization (58 %) or legalization of ‘recreational’ cannabis (58 %) and cocaine (96 %). Whereas attitudes towards cannabis legalization were increasingly favourable until 2018, support for legal change has declined in 2023, in contrast with a growing support for harm reduction.