Smokin Moose
Fallen Cannabis Warrior & Ex Moderator
Updated: 09/09/2007
Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 3
Legislation: Marijuana (buds or hash bars) is NOT legal in France according to the law. Though it is quite tolerated. It\'s OK as long as you avoid being too obvious.
Marijuana and Hashish and any related action (buying, selling, growing, smoking), are a criminal offence imposing a penalty of two months to one year in jail in addition to a fine of 56 EUR to 1680 EUR.
Law Enforcement: Police patrols (in cars / walking) are scouting different areas and streets, but they are not agressive with tourists. Mostly like they will not say anything or look away. Avoid being to obvious, though.
Keep in mind that the police may arrest you for any soft drug related activity. They may also look away, but there are fair chances of getting into trouble. The courts are a bit more forgiving, and tend to release small amount private users with a warning.
of course the texts themselves are very hard but almost never apllied in Paris. Don't smoke in publics spaces or cars -your car can be stopped by traffic cops and that smell ...Hum, no good! - but don't freak out, french smoke a lot!
Just don't look obviously stoned or smoking and you'll be cool.
Our most recent report is: "Well if you got one or two Spliffs of hash there will be no problems if you keep it cool but if you got more than 4 or 5 grams thenn you will have a problem Just hide it Remenber they can't check what you got if they have not seen you smoking (but french cops are a bit rough so keep it cool again.....
For weed, law is a bit rougher but french cops are nicer (if you are found with hascich they will probably say you to smoke weed instead...
"
and another report is: "They don't hassle tourists for MJ unless you make it so that they must arrest you.
In the streets of paris you can smoke freely whilst walking ; don't hang with hoods on in dark places and beware of parks (small ones) where cycle police sometimes does rounds.Otherwise its really no stress ; they piss us off but it ain't nevada here...Go on the "Quai" near Notre Dames on friday and saturdays, you might score though i doubt it but if you come with beer or wine you'll meet cool young people (15-25) hanging out playing music or skateboarding and smoking J's...Plus you might trade the beer for a joint or two if the day's hunting didn't go well!"
and also: "The entire time that I have lived in Paris I have always smoked in the street without problems. This above all in the east, in the zone that goes from Belleville until Nation (Menilmontant, Gambetta, Charonne etc...)"
Where to buy Marijuana in Paris: One of the best places to find good hash for good money is the Montmartre Area, at the foot of Sacre Coeur Basilica (N of city). Exactly at the entrance of the park, at the lower level, one will spot groups of 3 - 5 black-africans hanging around. `Officially` they manufacture hand-made cotton string bracelets as souvenir for tourists. Unofficially they may sell you bars of hash. Almost never weed. Hashish is very popular. They usually hide their stuff in different places in the park (bushes, under rocks, in trash bins, under benches, etc) and just go and get it accoring to the sum of money you are willing to offer them. At first call they may want to trick you. Give more money for a smaller bar. But don\'t hesitate to deal with them. You will sure get out with a quarter price off.
Really, really, really good hash in belleville, near faubourg du temple and boulervard belleville. You can find good hash for few euro. Weed is hardest to find but, if you are lucky, you can smoke Amsterdam top quality Orange or Ice... the price is really honest. Look in 10, 11, 20 arrondissement for positive vibes, quite people and potent pot.
The safest and most reliable bet for finding soft drugs is to ask a French friend or acquaintance.
Otherwise, try to find some young people and ask them . If not ,you can try les Halles or Le forum des Halles and ask to one of the dozens of young hanging around , Barbs can be an option but be careful with your money!
A local reporter noted: "Les Forum Des Halles at night. Near the jazz clubs you will see the Africans running the show. Lots of rip offs. Prepare to pay. I got a qtr ounce for 50e of some decent Morracan hash. It came like stick. It was worth it though. Just look for the African gane that is being run out of the restaurants and cafe's"
and also :"In Rue S.Maur (Belleville) there are many bar and in the street there is always much people. Here you can find of the optimal hash, truly honest prices. In order to find some weed in Rue Tolbiac, in front of the university Sorbonne there are usually many dealers. Good weed and enough low prices. In order to make transactions truly good it convene to go outside, in the banlieues. The reggae events are other optimal options. The S.Martin Channel is an other good option. In Paris truly a lot is smoked"
and also:" Paris offers much occasion for possible, good purchases. The hash is omnipresent and the prices are good. According to me the better places are Stalingrad, boulevard or rue de Belleville, Charonne, Gambetta (north east-east); Quai de la Gare, Bel Air, Butte aux-Cailles (south-east). To find the weed is more difficult, for good transactions you must know someone. I smoked an optimal weed for 5/6e X 1g. The quality generally is more than good. In the africans or indians zones smoke hash or weed it is most normal. Dreadlocks (the these zones are full of rasta) are always a good sign."
and: "At the Boulevard de Clichy (Metro 2 station Blanche) you just have to walk around for a while and most probably some dealer will approach you. They hang out there in masses during the night, especially during the weekend. No problems with police. It's also "safe" as there's always a lot of people around, many tourists. They speak english and will make you pay a lot, but still it's usually good quality. So if you just need/want some and have no other sources, there's always one place to go."
Prices: I was in Paris for around the end of June 2007. I easily found someone selling hash at 5 euro for a gram in the Trocadero park across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
and also: "they don't sell by gram, but by hashish bars. If you have a trained eye measure it yourself, don't trust them (may say 15 g and it\'s only 12). Hash bars usually have 12-20 grams. you can buy good hash bars in Montmartre (lower Sacre Couer Park) for 35-50 EUR / 12 - 15 g bar. quality is usually more than OK.
For 30 euros IF you know a few french people (it can be 30 to 50 euros depends on quality and in delaer's honesty) for 12 grams of haschich but the weed can be from 50 to 90 for 12."
a recent report we received is: "Hello I'm french i live in Paris, i just wanted to say something about the thing u write "10 grams is called a "barette"; actually there are "barettes" of 10€, 20€, 30€...
here we cut like this: 200g = 4*50g = 8*25g = 16*12g, and if u get the right dealer, with a 12g you can make 2 "barettes" of 30€, then you can make 3 barettes of 10€ for example
NOTE: i'm talking about the hashich, note that it can be diferrent with weed, and prices may differ, it depends the quality of the hashish, and the people you buy from NOTE 2: in france we call the hashish "shit"
and another reporter added: "5g X 20e Hash
5g X 40e Weed"
and also: "La Boule : 30euro ziplockss, usually gets you 5-6g of hash or 4-5g of herb. No soapbar there, they have a reputation to keep up. You can buy 4 or 5 at the same time if you like."
Country: France
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: + 33-1
City Tale:
One of the world's hippest cities, Paris is known for its decadence. Whether indulging in a rich meal or sipping an array of legendary wines, this picturesque capital of 13 million has always offered its visitors unending opportunities for self-indulgence. And the indulgence of a potent joint is no exception.
William Butler Yeats reportedly smoked hash during a Paris visit in the spring of 1898. Jim Morrison most certainly enjoyed a few joints before he died here in 1971. Now, despite a government that has tried to sweep away even soft drug use, the French embrace of joie de vivre persists. "Most of the people of our generation take some marijuana frequently," said Emmanuelle, a 27-year-old French woman. High quality pot is allegedly grown in the French wine country alongside the grapes that make up their famous vino, while catching a whiff of burning weed is not unheard of on the Paris streets.
"On Sunday, our day off, seeing that none of us had family in Paris we'd all meet at the local Algerian cafe where we spent all day eating couscous, drinking Algerian wine, listening to Algerian Rai music and smoking some of the best Moroccan hash," noted an Australian named RV.
A gram of poor quality Moroccan pot can cost as little as five francs - less than one American dollar — while one anonymous user said he found "top quality Amsterdam skunk or Northern Lights" selling for about 10 EUR per gram.
Hash averages between 5 EUR 6 EUR per gram.
Emmanuelle explained that her countrymen refer to hash as "shit," and that when buying the French call 10 grams a "barette" and 100 grams a "savonnette." "Normally in France they roll a joint as a mixture of tobacco and hash right off a tiny brick, with a bus ticket for a filter end, to make the cigarette easier to handle, easier to smoke down to the bit," said a visitor named Blinkin. He added that his French companions produced a cigar-sized joint of "realistically pure hash."
The safest and most reliable bet for finding soft drugs in such a huge city is to ask a French friend or acquaintance. Otherwise, Paris boasts endless nightspots with possibility ranging from huge dance clubs to seedy bars. The Montmartre and Pigalle areas have well-known red light districts that are likely to have a few people willing to supply for a price.
The French government, however, has gone out of its way to make life difficult for smokers. President Jacques Chirac has taken a hard line against all drugs, and the government has even gone so far as to stifle public displays sympathetic to soft drug use. French law restricts free expression by outlawing any "presentation in a favourable manner of narcotics." A cannabis culture magazine in Paris, "l'Elephant Rose," went out of business when editor Gerard Jubert was brought up on charges of "instigation to use cannabis substances," a violation of the country's public health code. A Paris court handed down an 18-month suspended sentence and fined him 300,000 francs ($40,500). Jean-Pierre Galland - a leading marijuana crusader who has been pushing the legalization issue in France for years - was given a suspended prison sentence and fined for "positive presentation" of marijuana through his organization, Collectif d'Information et de Recherche Cannabique (Collective for Information and Research into Cannabis). He has also racked up thousands in fines for organizing the "18 Joint" marijuana rally in Paris every June 18.
"No distinction exists between hard and soft drugs in French law," according to marijuana advocacy group NORML. "In theory, all drug use is a criminal offence imposing a penalty of two months to one year in jail in addition to a fine of 56 EUR to 1680 EUR." However, NORML reports that sentencing is "flexible." "In most cases involving small amounts of drugs, the French courts can decide simply to issue a warning or impose a compulsory therapy order in lieu of prosecution," NORML said. But the group warned that all possession and trafficking is punishable by a sentence of between two and 10 years in jail, although most possession cases involving a small amount for personal consumption are downgraded to drug use.
"The use of all drugs is illegal in France but that does not mean you'll waste away in prison if you take them," said Michel Bouchet, head of the French Interior Ministry's Anti-Drug Commission. In fact, while French Health Minister Bernard Kouchner spoke against decriminalisation, he offered some hope by noting he would not oppose measures allowing smokers to indulge privately in their homes. The official government position, however, is still a tough stance against all drugs. "I do not think there are 'soft' or 'hard' drugs," Bouchet said. "It's difficult for there to be 'soft use' of hard drugs, and it's certain there is hard use of soft drugs."
In light of the attitude of French authorities, an American offered a caution to fellow travellers. "I would suggest you all have a great time in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany," said Californian Jim Lohse. "But in places like France I just don't think it's worth the risk. Just drink more beer, or in Paris, drink more wine."
Smoking tolerance level [1= very illegal 5=virtually legal]: 3
Legislation: Marijuana (buds or hash bars) is NOT legal in France according to the law. Though it is quite tolerated. It\'s OK as long as you avoid being too obvious.
Marijuana and Hashish and any related action (buying, selling, growing, smoking), are a criminal offence imposing a penalty of two months to one year in jail in addition to a fine of 56 EUR to 1680 EUR.
Law Enforcement: Police patrols (in cars / walking) are scouting different areas and streets, but they are not agressive with tourists. Mostly like they will not say anything or look away. Avoid being to obvious, though.
Keep in mind that the police may arrest you for any soft drug related activity. They may also look away, but there are fair chances of getting into trouble. The courts are a bit more forgiving, and tend to release small amount private users with a warning.
of course the texts themselves are very hard but almost never apllied in Paris. Don't smoke in publics spaces or cars -your car can be stopped by traffic cops and that smell ...Hum, no good! - but don't freak out, french smoke a lot!
Just don't look obviously stoned or smoking and you'll be cool.
Our most recent report is: "Well if you got one or two Spliffs of hash there will be no problems if you keep it cool but if you got more than 4 or 5 grams thenn you will have a problem Just hide it Remenber they can't check what you got if they have not seen you smoking (but french cops are a bit rough so keep it cool again.....
For weed, law is a bit rougher but french cops are nicer (if you are found with hascich they will probably say you to smoke weed instead...
"
and another report is: "They don't hassle tourists for MJ unless you make it so that they must arrest you.
In the streets of paris you can smoke freely whilst walking ; don't hang with hoods on in dark places and beware of parks (small ones) where cycle police sometimes does rounds.Otherwise its really no stress ; they piss us off but it ain't nevada here...Go on the "Quai" near Notre Dames on friday and saturdays, you might score though i doubt it but if you come with beer or wine you'll meet cool young people (15-25) hanging out playing music or skateboarding and smoking J's...Plus you might trade the beer for a joint or two if the day's hunting didn't go well!"
and also: "The entire time that I have lived in Paris I have always smoked in the street without problems. This above all in the east, in the zone that goes from Belleville until Nation (Menilmontant, Gambetta, Charonne etc...)"
Where to buy Marijuana in Paris: One of the best places to find good hash for good money is the Montmartre Area, at the foot of Sacre Coeur Basilica (N of city). Exactly at the entrance of the park, at the lower level, one will spot groups of 3 - 5 black-africans hanging around. `Officially` they manufacture hand-made cotton string bracelets as souvenir for tourists. Unofficially they may sell you bars of hash. Almost never weed. Hashish is very popular. They usually hide their stuff in different places in the park (bushes, under rocks, in trash bins, under benches, etc) and just go and get it accoring to the sum of money you are willing to offer them. At first call they may want to trick you. Give more money for a smaller bar. But don\'t hesitate to deal with them. You will sure get out with a quarter price off.
Really, really, really good hash in belleville, near faubourg du temple and boulervard belleville. You can find good hash for few euro. Weed is hardest to find but, if you are lucky, you can smoke Amsterdam top quality Orange or Ice... the price is really honest. Look in 10, 11, 20 arrondissement for positive vibes, quite people and potent pot.
The safest and most reliable bet for finding soft drugs is to ask a French friend or acquaintance.
Otherwise, try to find some young people and ask them . If not ,you can try les Halles or Le forum des Halles and ask to one of the dozens of young hanging around , Barbs can be an option but be careful with your money!
A local reporter noted: "Les Forum Des Halles at night. Near the jazz clubs you will see the Africans running the show. Lots of rip offs. Prepare to pay. I got a qtr ounce for 50e of some decent Morracan hash. It came like stick. It was worth it though. Just look for the African gane that is being run out of the restaurants and cafe's"
and also :"In Rue S.Maur (Belleville) there are many bar and in the street there is always much people. Here you can find of the optimal hash, truly honest prices. In order to find some weed in Rue Tolbiac, in front of the university Sorbonne there are usually many dealers. Good weed and enough low prices. In order to make transactions truly good it convene to go outside, in the banlieues. The reggae events are other optimal options. The S.Martin Channel is an other good option. In Paris truly a lot is smoked"
and also:" Paris offers much occasion for possible, good purchases. The hash is omnipresent and the prices are good. According to me the better places are Stalingrad, boulevard or rue de Belleville, Charonne, Gambetta (north east-east); Quai de la Gare, Bel Air, Butte aux-Cailles (south-east). To find the weed is more difficult, for good transactions you must know someone. I smoked an optimal weed for 5/6e X 1g. The quality generally is more than good. In the africans or indians zones smoke hash or weed it is most normal. Dreadlocks (the these zones are full of rasta) are always a good sign."
and: "At the Boulevard de Clichy (Metro 2 station Blanche) you just have to walk around for a while and most probably some dealer will approach you. They hang out there in masses during the night, especially during the weekend. No problems with police. It's also "safe" as there's always a lot of people around, many tourists. They speak english and will make you pay a lot, but still it's usually good quality. So if you just need/want some and have no other sources, there's always one place to go."
Prices: I was in Paris for around the end of June 2007. I easily found someone selling hash at 5 euro for a gram in the Trocadero park across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower.
and also: "they don't sell by gram, but by hashish bars. If you have a trained eye measure it yourself, don't trust them (may say 15 g and it\'s only 12). Hash bars usually have 12-20 grams. you can buy good hash bars in Montmartre (lower Sacre Couer Park) for 35-50 EUR / 12 - 15 g bar. quality is usually more than OK.
For 30 euros IF you know a few french people (it can be 30 to 50 euros depends on quality and in delaer's honesty) for 12 grams of haschich but the weed can be from 50 to 90 for 12."
a recent report we received is: "Hello I'm french i live in Paris, i just wanted to say something about the thing u write "10 grams is called a "barette"; actually there are "barettes" of 10€, 20€, 30€...
here we cut like this: 200g = 4*50g = 8*25g = 16*12g, and if u get the right dealer, with a 12g you can make 2 "barettes" of 30€, then you can make 3 barettes of 10€ for example
NOTE: i'm talking about the hashich, note that it can be diferrent with weed, and prices may differ, it depends the quality of the hashish, and the people you buy from NOTE 2: in france we call the hashish "shit"
and another reporter added: "5g X 20e Hash
5g X 40e Weed"
and also: "La Boule : 30euro ziplockss, usually gets you 5-6g of hash or 4-5g of herb. No soapbar there, they have a reputation to keep up. You can buy 4 or 5 at the same time if you like."
Country: France
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +1
Telephone Area Code: + 33-1
City Tale:
One of the world's hippest cities, Paris is known for its decadence. Whether indulging in a rich meal or sipping an array of legendary wines, this picturesque capital of 13 million has always offered its visitors unending opportunities for self-indulgence. And the indulgence of a potent joint is no exception.
William Butler Yeats reportedly smoked hash during a Paris visit in the spring of 1898. Jim Morrison most certainly enjoyed a few joints before he died here in 1971. Now, despite a government that has tried to sweep away even soft drug use, the French embrace of joie de vivre persists. "Most of the people of our generation take some marijuana frequently," said Emmanuelle, a 27-year-old French woman. High quality pot is allegedly grown in the French wine country alongside the grapes that make up their famous vino, while catching a whiff of burning weed is not unheard of on the Paris streets.
"On Sunday, our day off, seeing that none of us had family in Paris we'd all meet at the local Algerian cafe where we spent all day eating couscous, drinking Algerian wine, listening to Algerian Rai music and smoking some of the best Moroccan hash," noted an Australian named RV.
A gram of poor quality Moroccan pot can cost as little as five francs - less than one American dollar — while one anonymous user said he found "top quality Amsterdam skunk or Northern Lights" selling for about 10 EUR per gram.
Hash averages between 5 EUR 6 EUR per gram.
Emmanuelle explained that her countrymen refer to hash as "shit," and that when buying the French call 10 grams a "barette" and 100 grams a "savonnette." "Normally in France they roll a joint as a mixture of tobacco and hash right off a tiny brick, with a bus ticket for a filter end, to make the cigarette easier to handle, easier to smoke down to the bit," said a visitor named Blinkin. He added that his French companions produced a cigar-sized joint of "realistically pure hash."
The safest and most reliable bet for finding soft drugs in such a huge city is to ask a French friend or acquaintance. Otherwise, Paris boasts endless nightspots with possibility ranging from huge dance clubs to seedy bars. The Montmartre and Pigalle areas have well-known red light districts that are likely to have a few people willing to supply for a price.
The French government, however, has gone out of its way to make life difficult for smokers. President Jacques Chirac has taken a hard line against all drugs, and the government has even gone so far as to stifle public displays sympathetic to soft drug use. French law restricts free expression by outlawing any "presentation in a favourable manner of narcotics." A cannabis culture magazine in Paris, "l'Elephant Rose," went out of business when editor Gerard Jubert was brought up on charges of "instigation to use cannabis substances," a violation of the country's public health code. A Paris court handed down an 18-month suspended sentence and fined him 300,000 francs ($40,500). Jean-Pierre Galland - a leading marijuana crusader who has been pushing the legalization issue in France for years - was given a suspended prison sentence and fined for "positive presentation" of marijuana through his organization, Collectif d'Information et de Recherche Cannabique (Collective for Information and Research into Cannabis). He has also racked up thousands in fines for organizing the "18 Joint" marijuana rally in Paris every June 18.
"No distinction exists between hard and soft drugs in French law," according to marijuana advocacy group NORML. "In theory, all drug use is a criminal offence imposing a penalty of two months to one year in jail in addition to a fine of 56 EUR to 1680 EUR." However, NORML reports that sentencing is "flexible." "In most cases involving small amounts of drugs, the French courts can decide simply to issue a warning or impose a compulsory therapy order in lieu of prosecution," NORML said. But the group warned that all possession and trafficking is punishable by a sentence of between two and 10 years in jail, although most possession cases involving a small amount for personal consumption are downgraded to drug use.
"The use of all drugs is illegal in France but that does not mean you'll waste away in prison if you take them," said Michel Bouchet, head of the French Interior Ministry's Anti-Drug Commission. In fact, while French Health Minister Bernard Kouchner spoke against decriminalisation, he offered some hope by noting he would not oppose measures allowing smokers to indulge privately in their homes. The official government position, however, is still a tough stance against all drugs. "I do not think there are 'soft' or 'hard' drugs," Bouchet said. "It's difficult for there to be 'soft use' of hard drugs, and it's certain there is hard use of soft drugs."
In light of the attitude of French authorities, an American offered a caution to fellow travellers. "I would suggest you all have a great time in the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany," said Californian Jim Lohse. "But in places like France I just don't think it's worth the risk. Just drink more beer, or in Paris, drink more wine."