FRANÇAIS :
Cette note revient sur les législations relatives à l'usage et à la détention de cannabis en Europe. Elle actualise les versions précédentes mises en ligne depuis octobre 2011. Conçue en deux temps, la note présente d'abord un lexique rassemblant quelques propositions de définition des principaux termes utilisés dans les débats récurrents relatifs au statut légal du cannabis. Ce chapitre est suivi d'un aperçu des législations sur l'usage et la détention de cannabis en vigueur en France et en Europe, assorti d'une mise en regard des évolutions législatives les plus marquantes survenues hors d'Europe. Une carte de synthèse sur la situation dans les pays de l'Union européenne conclut ce travail réalisé avec l'aide de juristes et de chercheurs spécialisés dans les questions pénales.

ENGLISH:
The laws governing cannabis use, tolerated in some countries yet totally banned in others, vary significantly from one European Union country to another. However, the terms used in the debate are often not fully understood. Despite being regularly employed in public forums, the concepts of liberalisation, legalisation, depenalisation, decriminalisation and classification as a petty offence do not always have a commonly accepted definition.
Some of these concepts have neither a dedicated general dictionary definition nor any legal value, since they describe political decision-making processes. Their use is therefore variable and, very often, ambiguous. In spite of international agreements making the supply of narcotics a criminal offence (production, trafficking, sale and possession), since 2012, four US states (Colorado, Washington State, Alaska, Oregon) and the District of Columbia (DC), and one Latin American country - Uruguay - have legalised the production, trade, possession and recreational use of cannabis for adults and implemented a mechanism for regulation of the cannabis market. These innovative initiatives have refueled the debate with respect to the legal status of the substance in Europe.
Developed drawing on the references cited in the bibliography and with the help of legal experts and researchers specialising in penal matters, this note firstly presents a lexicon assembling a few proposals for the definition of the main terms used in the recurrent debates relative to the legal status of cannabis. This is followed by an overview of current legislation concerning cannabis use and possession in France and Europe, along with a comparison of the most significant legislative changes outside Europe.