MARIJUANA ACTIVISTS SEND JOINTS TO FRENCH DEPUTIES

PARIS, Dec 10 (Reuters) A group advocating the decriminalisation [sic]
of marijuana said on Wednesday it had sent a handrolled marijuana
cigarette to every French MP, along with letters urging them to ease
France's tough drug laws.

``This legislation, the most repressive in Europe, has done nothing to
halt the massive spread of drugs, nor has it slowed the appetite of a
certain number of our fellow citizens for illegal substances,'' the
Parisbased Collective for Information and Res earch on Cannabis wrote.

A spokesman said the joints, made from marijuana grown in France, had been
mailed on Tuesday afternoon. The group had not yet had any response from
National Assembly deputies.

Some seven million of France's nearly 60 million people have tried
marijuana at least once and about two million are regular users, according
to official estimates.

Hundreds of French residents were jailed and thousands fined for use,
possession or sale of marijuana last year, according to the organisation
[sic].