December 7-9, 2018: international cannabis policy conference in Vienna

An international cannabis conference will be held in Vienna this December, bringing together experts from a wide range of backgrounds to discuss international cannabis policies and the WHO's latest recommendations on the classification of Cannabis, THC and CBD.

This will be a decisive moment in the UN institutional calendar to discuss more progressive and innovative policies that take into account the many political, social and economic aspects of cannabis laws. Laws and public policies that take into account the special status of this plant and its multiple potential, not only therapeutic but also economic and industrial, based on the framework provided by the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.

The Conference

The conference will be held in Vienna from December 7 to 9, 2018, following on from the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) meeting from December 5 to 7. It will bring together researchers, NGOs, students but also and above all political representatives from many reformist countries in terms of cannabis policies, and private investors and entrepreneurs from the hemp and cannabis sectors.

The curious are invited to participate and take advantage of this incredible discussion forum to join the global reform movement. The event is organized by FAAAT (Favoriser des Approches Alternatives en matière d'Addiction, Think & do tank), an international NGO dedicated to making drug policy developments transparent and proposing viable alternatives.

The Conference will debate the WHO's recommendations to member states. It will also be one of the last chances for reformist voices to be heard before the crucial CND session in March 2019, during which member states will vote on drug policy direction for the next ten years. The WHO recommendations are the result of reviews of cannabidiol, THC and cannabis by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD). The results of the 40th and 41st sessions of the ECDD Committee will be presented to the 187 UN member states to inform their upcoming vote at the March 2019 session.

The institutional mechanics of the UN

In response to repeated calls to revise existing policies, including those from the FAAAT, since 2016 the WHO has engaged the ECDD to gather all existing data on cannabis and decide whether this data is relevant and numerous enough to proceed with a more in-depth review: this was the phase of pre-review. Once this has been validated, the ECDD meets again to undertake an in-depth review known as the Critical-review in which it carries out a benefit-risk analysis and makes recommendations on a possible change of classification. These recommendations are then forwarded to the CND, which adopts or rejects them.

At its 40th meeting, the ECDD recommended, for example, to not classifying CBD as a controlled substance. The 41st meeting is dedicated to THC and the cannabis plant in its entirety, and is scheduled for November 12 to 16, 2018. It is these recommendations from the ECDD Experts (retested by the WHO's higher bodies) that will be presented to member states next December. The results of the 41st Expert Committee will therefore be decisive for the future vote in March 2019.

On the other hand, many other, more progressive branches of the UN regularly issue statements calling for a worldwide movement to decriminalize drugs. However, it is still the member states that vote, and the global trend is divided between a reinforcement of hard-line policies and a reduction in the use of drugs. more progressive movements. In this case, Trump's recent meeting at the UN on drug policies, in which many countries took part, does not bode well for reformists.

The CND's voting session is held every March in Vienna. The Commission operates on a rotating basis, with a prevalence of countries particularly affected by drug production and trafficking. It brings together a total of 53 member countries and voting is by simple majority. This session will be dedicated to cannabis policies. The Commission's conclusions are then fully incorporated into international law.

These norms are not binding on states, but in terms of symbolic legitimacy, they are extremely important. Indeed, they led the majority of the world's countries to opt for cannabis prohibition in the 1960s. They provide activists and civil society players with irrefutable arguments based on the recommendations of internationally recognized experts, and enable international organizations such as the UN and WHO to guide and support countries towards the end of prohibition.