Canada: Will the legalization of cannabis respect international conventions?

As announced by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the Canada plans to legalize recreational cannabis by July 1, 2018.

Canada is set to become the first G7 country to legalize cannabis. However, opposition parties and some Canadian legal experts are asking the federal government to explain how the country will reconcile legalization with respect for international treaties criminalizing the substance, which Canada has signed.

What are these international conventions?

Even if the’UN calls for worldwide decriminalization of drugs, the international organization has ratified several anti-narcotics laws. Canada is a signatory to all three United Nations (UN) drug treaties:

• The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) to limit the production and trade of illicit substances. This convention was used to draw up the list of drugs classified as narcotics.
• The Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971)  which aimed to limit the production and trade of synthetic psychotropic substances. This convention nevertheless recognizes the use of drugs from a medical point of view.
• Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988) which reinforces the two previous agreements.

Steven Hoffman, University of Toronto professor and specialist in public health and international law, explains that when the government announced legalization, it should have withdrawn from the UN conventions on narcotics.

«The lack of clarity about how the federal government is meeting its international obligations under the UN drug treaties is worrying, as it sends a message to countries around the world that our international obligations are not at the forefront of our thinking,» says Steven Hoffman.

Chrystia Freeland, spokeswoman for the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Canada's federal government is studying a series of issues linked to the legalization of cannabis, particularly with regard to international commitments.

Adam Austen, Canada's Press Secretary for Global Affairs, added: «We are committed to working with our global partners to better promote public health and combat illicit drug trafficking.

The case of Uruguay

In December 2013, the Uruguayan Parliament definitively adopted the  a law regulating the production and sale of cannabis. However, the country has not complied with UN international conventions. According to International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), Uruguay does not comply with the 1961 Convention, to which it is also a signatory.

Raymons Yans, former president of the INCB, had stated: «The Uruguayan legislator's decision does not take into account its negative impacts on health. In particular, the use and abuse of cannabis by young individuals to have a serious influence on their development.»

For example, the INCB has sent monitoring missions to check that legalization does not pose a public health problem in Uruguay. In May 2015, a scientific committee analyzing the application of regulation within the Junta Nacional de Drogas (JND) had been installed.

JND president Juan Andrés Roballo and secretary Milton Romani asserted that «the real problem in Latin America is not so much consumption, but the illegal drug trade and the violence that goes with it».

This measure has sparked debate in international relations on the issue of cannabis regulation. Even if Uruguay has not complied with international conventions, the country has sufficient reasons to regulate cannabis, namely the fight against drug trafficking. Canada has two options: to follow suit, legalizing cannabis while ensuring that it is properly regulated, and proving that cannabis consumption (and not abuse) has no profound and significant impact on health. Or withdraw, before legalizing, from the international conventions it signed between the 1960s and 1980s.

Mehdi Bautier