Nigeria: the United Nations calls for cannabis consumption not to be criminalized

According to the Nigerian media, the representative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Nigeria, Harsheth Kaur Virk, has urged the country to do not criminalize cannabis users and to legalize its medical use.

The United Nations position on cannabis use was presented at a one-day public hearing organized by the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Health on the subject of pharmaceutical drug abuse among Nigerian youth.

According to Harsheth Kaur Virk, cannabis is a miracle drug authorized to medical purposes by the United Nations, but not for recreational purposes.

«Nigeria, as a sovereign nation, has strict laws regarding cannabis, but UN international conventions have approved it for medical purposes based on the results of research conducted for this purpose by world-renowned institutes.»

In her opinion, beyond cannabis, recreational users of other addictive drugs should not be criminalized but placed in care circuits, in line with UN recommendations.

«The UN Office on Drugs and Crime considers drug addicts to be sick people in need of treatment, care and reintegration, she added.

The United Nations' official position on drugs is at least decriminalization. The UNODC usually takes a back seat, and does not dwell on the therapeutic use of cannabis. UNODC has taken a step back with these statements:

«To be clear, at the invitation of the Senate Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Health, UNODC made a presentation at a public hearing and reiterated the following recommendations contained in the International Narcotics Control Board's 2017 report, in which the Board urges all governments to:

• collect data on the prevalence of problem drug use and access to treatment
• Investing in evidence-based treatment and detoxification
• Allocate sufficient resources to treatment and detoxification, the two main components of demand reduction.
• Pay special attention to special population groups
• Share best practices and knowledge at national and international level
• Stimulate research to create new tools

On the specific question of cannabis, UNODC pointed out that UN conventions prohibited any use of cannabis other than for medical or scientific purposes.