Will the UN change the classification of cannabis?

At its 63rd session from December 2 to 4, the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) could, if it reaps the vote of a simple majority at a virtual meeting based in Vienna, accept a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) to remove the cannabis and its resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

L’CND adopts this recommendation would recognize the medical possibilities of cannabis, which are today limited to research by the presence of cannabis in Schedule IV, a classification that requires the highest levels of international control and brings together «substances that [...] are particularly susceptible to abuse and adverse effects and have little or no therapeutic usefulness».

Cannabis and its resin are also listed in Schedule I, which also requires a high level of international control but facilitates research, and would remain there.

In January 2019, after the WHO had evaluated the scientific literature, the organization had recommended that the CND remove cannabis from Schedule IV precisely because of its «therapeutic potential» and the belief that it is not «particularly likely to produce adverse effects similar to the effects of other Schedule IV substances.»

A vote is scheduled for December 2, with postponements still possible. Visit proposal is supported in particular by by the European Union, Switzerland, Canada, the United States, certain Latin American countries and Australia.

Votes for 6 recommendations

From December 2, 6 WHO recommendations will be put to the vote of the CND. The vote had been postponed until March 2020 to give CND member states time to «clarify the implications and consequences of, and reasoning behind, these recommendations».

The recommendations suggest :

• Removing cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Convention
• Moving dronabinol (synthetic THC) from Table II of the 1971 Convention to Table I of the 1961 Convention
• Moving THC from Table I of the 1971 Convention to Table I of the 1961 Convention
• Removing cannabis extracts and tinctures from Schedule I of the 1961 Convention
• Removing CBD preparations containing -0.2% THC from international control
• Add dronabinol preparations to Schedule III of the 1961 Convention

The highly technical proposals are sometimes a source of confusion, particularly when it comes to CBD. As explained above, A vote against this proposal would not place CBD under international control, as CBD itself is not listed in any of the international drug control conventions.

While the proposal attempts to address the issue of trace THC in plant-derived CBD by setting a limit of 0.2% THC, it does not specify how THC is to be measured, which could lead to confusion.

Some countries could vote against the recommendation on CBD due to technical details linked to the way the proposals were drafted, and ask the WHO to propose a revised version.