When the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this year that it would conduct a review of evidence surrounding the cannabis plant and make a recommendation on its legal status, the announcement was heartening news for the global cannabis advocacy community. \u00a0Onlookers worldwide waited for months with bated breath to see whether marijuana would finally be stripped of its Schedule I status within the confines of international drug law.<\/p>\n
The United Nations agency said an assessment would be made in early December and announced at the International Cannabis Policy Conference, held in Vienna. But unfortunately, the WHO pulled a fast one at the last minute and revealed that it was postponing its decision on this matter indefinitely. The agency provided no reason for the delay.<\/p>\n
Although conspiracy theorists might be quick to chalk this deferment up as some master manipulation to prevent cannabis from being unleashed at a global level, it is important to point out that the WHO has made positive recommendations regarding marijuana in the past.<\/p>\n
Just last year, the agency published a\u00a0favorable report<\/a>\u00a0on cannabidiol (CBD) which\u00a0suggested<\/a>\u00a0that this compound should no longer be ranked a Schedule I drug because it \u201cis not likely to be abused or create dependence as for other cannabinoids (such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for instance).\u201d The agency also found \u201cpreliminary evidence\u201d that CBD could have therapeutic benefits for health conditions like Alzheimer\u2019s disease, cancer, psychosis and Parkinson\u2019s disease.<\/p>\n More recently, the agency\u2019s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) found that marijuana, in general, is a\u00a0\u201crelatively safe drug.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Over the summer, following the first review of the cannabis plant since the 1960s, WHO published a report saying the cannabis plant contributed to no significant health issues. The only side effects marijuana consumption appears to cause is\u00a0\u201ceuphoria, laughter and talkativeness,\u201d<\/a>\u00a0the report reads. The agency reiterated the overall safety of the cannabis plant by stating that it \u201cis not associated with acute fatal overdoses.\u201d<\/p>\n It was that report that incited a more extensive review, the positive outcome of which could force the United Nations to reconsider its position on the cannabis plant. Perhaps this is the reason the ECDD pulled back a little, saying it needs more time to review the evidence and testimony provided to make a proper assessment.<\/p>\n What is concerning, however, is that the agency did not give any indication when the determination could be expected. Many cannabis advocates are afraid that sandbagging a recommendation will only serve as a justification for not rescheduling the cannabis plant when it comes up for\u00a0review in front of member states<\/a>\u00a0in early 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fact that the recommendations weren\u2019t made\u2026 as expected could mean that when the time comes to decide what to do with the recommendations in March, it will be easier for certain countries to argue that they didn\u2019t have enough time to review the inputs to have a position, possibly delaying the process once again,\u201d Bruno Javier Faraone Machado, permanent representative of Uruguay to the United Nations,\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0Marijuana Business Daily.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s still good reason to believe the United Nations is going to be forced soon to take a different direction on cannabis. Not only have Uruguay and Canada legalized the leaf nationwide for recreational use, but so have several American states.\u00a0Others will undoubtedly join<\/a>\u00a0in 2019. What\u2019s more, the UN\u2019s controls on cannabis (and other illegal substances) were called out this year in a\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0by the International Drug Consortium, which called its policies to stop the flow of drugs a \u201cspectacular failure.\u201d The report also names marijuana as the leading illicit substance contributing to swells in the drug trafficking game.<\/p>\n Whether the WHO will step up soon with its cannabis recommendation remains uncertain. It stands to reason that the agency has been politically motivated to hold out. After all, a favorable report could change a lot concerning cannabis in the grand scheme of international law. The UN drug treaties have been an excuse that many countries, including the United States, have used for maintaining prohibition.<\/p>\n TELL US<\/b>, why do you think the World Health Organization failed to review its stance on cannabis in a timely manner?<\/p>\n The post World Health Organization Delays Cannabis Rescheduling Recommendation<\/a> appeared first on Cannabis Now<\/a>.<\/p>\n
When the World Health Organization (WHO) said earlier this year that it would conduct a review of evidence surrounding the cannabis plant and make a recommendation on its legal status, the announcement was heartening news for the global cannabis advocacy community. \u00a0Onlookers worldwide waited for months with bated breath toContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[50,136,5560,5561,6870,81,420,667,1221,1173],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/58"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31635"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31636,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31635\/revisions\/31636"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}If Not Now, When?<\/h4>\n
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\nRead More: World Health Organization Delays Cannabis Rescheduling Recommendation<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"