The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) met to vote on several rescheduling recommendations on cannabis. Morocco provided an important “yes” vote to remove cannabis from the UN’s Schedule IV category of drugs that have limited or no therapeutic use. The vote concluded with a 27-25 majority, meaning that without Morocco’s “yes” vote, the cannabis recommendation likely would not have passed. “Morocco’s vote today means that the country has joined the community of forward-looking states recognizing the historical error of denying the medical usefulness of cannabis,” the Transnational Institute’s (TNI) drug policy expert Tom Blickman said. (See also: Potential fall-out from the vote on the WHO cannabis recommendations)

An analysis by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) concludes that most of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) cannabis scheduling recommendations would either have little impact on international drug controls or actually tighten requirements. The analysis was provided to member states shortly before the start of the first in a series of UN meetings. The WHO recommendations are often celebrated as a positive step toward the easing of the international control of cannabis, which would be a positive development for the industry. But regarding practical implications in the level of international control, the INCB document found that, if adopted two recommendations would imply no meaningful change and two others would mean more control for pure THC.

Los cambios políticos ocurridos en los últimos cinco años han reconfigurado dramáticamente el mercado del cannabis. No solo ha habido un boom sin precedentes en el mercado medicinal sino que, siguiendo los cambios políticos en muchas jurisdicciones, un número creciente de países también se están preparando para la regulación legal del uso no medicinal. Tales movimientos son impulsados por el reconocimiento de la inefectividad probada de las políticas represivas durante décadas, que han acarreado graves consecuencias negativas y apuntan a proporcionar un amplio rango de beneficios en términos de la salud y los derechos humanos.

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Purdue Pharma, the drug manufacturer that kickstarted the US opioid epidemic, corruptly influenced the World Health Organization in order to boost painkiller sales across the globe, according to a report by members of Congress. An investigation by Katherine Clark and Hal Rogers, who represent districts in Massachusetts and Kentucky hard hit by the US opioid epidemic, accuses Purdue of replicating its false marketing claims about the safety and effectiveness of opioids to change WHO prescribing guidelines in an attempt to expand foreign markets for its drugs. “The web of influence we uncovered paints a picture of a public health organization that has been corrupted by the opioid industry,” said Clark.

Recent comments by a U.S. State Department official to a United Nations (UN) drug commission are being seen by some legal experts as “a good sign” for marijuana’s potential domestic move to Schedule III under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), at least in terms of clearing the country’s obligations under international law. Patt Prugh, a senior legal advisor and the primary counsel for the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, told the UN’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) that the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and other global drug conventions take a “highly respectful” stance toward member states’ domestic policies that don’t have an “international dimension” and ought to be weighed against their duties to protect human rights.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD or Expert Committee) released in January 2019 the outcomes of the first-ever critical review of cannabis, recommending a series of changes in the current scheduling of cannabis-related substances under the UN drug control conventions. Eagerly awaited, the ECDD recommendations contain some clearly positive points, such as acknowledging the medicinal usefulness of cannabis by removing it from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotics Drugs; clarifying that cannabidiol (CBD) is not under international control; and addressing some long-standing scheduling inconsistencies.

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In November 2018, the UN System CEB adopted the ‘UN system common position supporting the implementation of the international drug control policy through effective inter-agency collaboration’, expressing the shared drug policy principles of all UN organisations and committing them to speak with one voice. The CEB is the highest-level coordination forum of the UN system, convening biannual meetings of the heads of all UN agencies, programmes and related institutions, chaired by the UN Secretary General. 

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The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) accepted a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The historic vote could have far-reaching implications for the global medical cannabis industry, ranging from regulatory oversight to scientific research into the plant and its use as a medicine. The eagerly awaited approval of Recommendation 5.1 had a slim majority in favor with 27 votes for, 1 abstention and 25 votes against. The CND – the main drug policymaking body within the United Nations – turned down all five remaining recommendations. (See also: UN green lights medicinal cannabis but fails to challenge colonial legacy of its prohibition)

During its reconvened 63rd session Dec. 2-4, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) could – with a simple majority vote in a virtual meeting based in Vienna – accept a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Drugs in Schedule IV of the 1961 treaty – the current situation with cannabis or heroin – are a subset of those already in Schedule I, and Schedule I already requires the highest levels of international control. As such, a victory would be more symbolic than practical. (See also: Potential fall-out from the vote on the WHO cannabis recommendations)

Jamaica’s decriminalisation of ganja in 2015 brought with it many expectations, one being the ability to export its hi-grade herb. With a relatively small marketplace (a 2016-2017 Jamaica Health and Lifestyle Survey says 17 per cent of Jamaicans use ganja), investors are eager to expand their market base beyond Jamaica’s 2.9 million citizens. Given Jamaica’s ideal growing conditions and its reputation for producing high-quality varieties, with potentially unique medicinal applications, a licensed producer would have a field of endless opportunities if it developed an international market for its strain. Intellectual property rights protecting that strain would also allow the producer to maximise its earning potential.

The issue of cannabis legalisation around the world was once again thrust into the spotlight following a vote by the United Nations’ Commission on Narcotic Drugs to reclassify it as one that is less dangerous and has medical or therapeutic benefits. Experts said the result could prompt greater medical research and legalisation efforts around the world. But it also illustrated a separate issue: Asian nations are starkly divided on their views towards marijuana use, a not entirely surprising outcome given the efforts made to recognise its benefits in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia. Thailand said it would no longer classify cannabis plants and extracts as a Category 5 narcotic – though cannabis buds containing high amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, will remain illegal.