In historic decision, UN removes cannabis from most restrictive drug list
The vote that removed cannabis from the annex where drugs like cocaine and heroin were, may have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry
The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) of the United Nations (UN) accepted today (2) a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Annex IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which is the most restrictive recommendation regarding drugs.
Recommendation 5.1 had a small majority in favor, with 27 votes in favor, one abstention, and 25 votes against. The CND - the main drug policy-making body in the United Nations - rejected all five remaining recommendations.
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The historic vote that took place in Vienna, Austria, may have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry, ranging from regulatory oversight to scientific research on the plant and its use as medicine.
The approval of Recommendation 5.1 carries broad symbolic significance for medical cannabis, as it could help boost efforts to legalize medical cannabis worldwide, now that the CND tacitly recognizes the drug's medical utility.
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“The wave of medical cannabis has already accelerated in recent years, but this will give it another boost,” said Martin Jelsma, director of the Drugs and Democracy program at the Transnational Institute, based in the Netherlands, to Marijuana Business Daily. “And for those countries that basically mirror the UN's scheduling in their domestic legislation, this could lead to national delisting and removing obstacles to the use of cannabis for medical and research purposes.”
The vote may encourage countries to reevaluate how cannabis is classified in their own lists of narcotic drugs, potentially paving the way for more research on medical marijuana and its use as a treatment for a variety of illnesses and conditions.
However, what should not be expected is a loosening of international controls governing medical cannabis. “Although the change does not fully release the plant from treaty control, it is a giant step towards the normalization of cannabis in medicine above all, but also in our societies in general,” said independent researcher Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli from the CND Monitor to MJBizDaily.
“Decades of efforts were needed to remove cannabis from Annex IV, with implications that will slowly but surely be seen in the coming decades.”
What changes from now on
Drugs in the 1961 treaty's Annex IV - where, until Wednesday, cannabis was alongside heroin - are a subset of those already in Annex I.
Table I - which includes fentanyl - already requires the highest levels of international control.
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The schedules of international drug control conventions classify drugs considering their medical utility and the potential harm they can cause.
Only the 53 current CND member states had the opportunity to vote, but the decision applies to all signatories of international drug control conventions.
Is the decision enough?
Some cannabis advocates argue that the WHO did not go far enough with Recommendation 5.1, as cannabis does not have a risk profile comparable to other drugs in Table I.
But, considering how difficult cannabis reform has been at the UN level, the removal of Annex IV is a step that researchers and companies will celebrate.
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The long-awaited decision came about 60 years after cannabis was first included in the strictest category of the 1961 Single Convention, one of the three treaties that are the cornerstone of the international drug control system.
WHO's recommendations on cannabis were first revealed in January 2019 as part of a complex package of six proposals related to cannabis.
Member states took almost two years to analyze the implications of accepting or rejecting the proposals.
Five other recommendations were rejected
After approving Recommendation 5.1 on Wednesday, member states went on to vote on the five remaining proposals:
Recommendation 5.2 to move THC from the 1971 convention to the 1961 treaty failed to obtain body approval, with 23 votes in favor, two abstentions, and 28 votes against.
Recommendations 5.3 and 5.6 were linked to the approval of Recommendation 5.2. Since 5.2 was rejected, these two recommendations were rejected without a vote.
Recommendation 5.6 was about placing certain THC pharmaceutical preparations in Annex III of the 1961 treaty.
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Recommendation 5.4 - a proposal to exclude “cannabis extracts and tinctures” from the 1961 treaty - was rejected by 24 votes in favor, two abstentions, and 27 against. But, according to the WHO's explanation of the recommendation, the goal is simply to eliminate duplication and does not aim to “reduce the level of control of any substance related to cannabis or narrow the scope of control”.
Recommendation 5.5 was rejected with six votes in favor, four abstentions, and 43 against. This recommendation represents a missed opportunity to clarify the confusing legal situation for CBD preparations with traces of THC. The proposal was drafted ambiguously, and the WHO's responses to member states' questions about this recommendation over the past two years have increased confusion.
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Some countries that voted against certain proposals did not do so because they wanted to vote against cannabis or as a way to question the science behind the recommendations.
The representative of Canada acknowledged that Recommendation 5.5 “was supported by scientific evidence and that CBD does not meet the criteria for international control under drug conventions concerned with the risk of abuse and dependence”.
Canada raised several member states' concerns about using a “footnote” to clarify this situation.
“Canada suggests that the WHO recommendation would likely have more support if reformulated to align with the convention's structure and purpose,” the representative said.
Although the meeting was hosted in a hybrid format with possible virtual presence, votes could only be cast in person in Vienna by representatives of countries that are current CND members.
Source: Alfredo Pascual/MJBIZDAILY