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Here’s all you need to know about the WHO’s recommendations to reschedule cannabis and cannabis-related substances.
(Last updated: 18 December 2020)
Following its first-ever critical review of cannabis, in January 2019 the World Health Organization's Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) issued a collection of formal recommendations to reschedule cannabis and cannabis-related substances. 53 member states of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) are set to vote on these recommendations in December 2020.
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. But the ECDD recommendations also reveal problematic underlying evaluation methods and scheduling procedures along with a very questionable rationale for keeping cannabis in Schedule I. Moreover, the recommendations leave many questions unanswered regarding levels of control for different types of medical cannabis preparations. The potential repercussions of those more questionable aspects of the ECDD recommendations trigger legitimate concerns that merit a close examination by governments and by civil society.In a historic vote, the United Nations (UN) has finally recognised the medicinal value of cannabis. TNI and other civil society partners welcomed the move, but also expressed disappointment that this reform does not go far enough, as cannabis remains categorised internationally alongside drugs like heroin and cocaine. Find the press release and video statements here.
The WHO has now given an unequivocal sign of support for medical cannabis programmes. A rejection by vote does not invalidate the assessment that there is sufficient scientific evidence to prove that cannabis is an effective medicine (at least for a number of medical conditions). That conclusion reached by the WHO experts stands no matter how the political vote turns out in the CND. Learn more from this statement by Martin Jelsma.
To follow related updates from the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), check out this page.
The forty-first meeting of the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, 12-16 November 2018. Find all the relevant documents here.