"Marijuana needs to be decriminalized," Jose Bove, himself a heavy pipe smoker, said in a televised address. "This is as much part of the daily routine today as drinking alcohol."
French laws make no distinction between hard and soft drugs, so from the formal point of view, marijuana smoking is an offence in France, which is punishable with a prison term of up to one year and a fine of 3,750 euros.
In his first television address as a candidate, Bove, who is representing left-wing anti-liberals and environmentalists, called for the establishment of a leftist force that could be a viable alternative to the frail left and the heavy-handed right.
Under a draw, Bove was the first presidential hopeful to address voters through broadcast media in the two weeks leading up to the April 22 polls. Each of the twelve candidates on the first-round ballot will have 45 minutes of airtime on the four national television channels and on the radio stations France Inter and RFI.
If the first round of voting fails to produce a clear winner, a runoff will be held May 6.
The current campaign's frontrunners include Conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, Socialist Segolene Royal, and centrist Francois Bayrou.
