Why is the #ProCannabisTeam in Vienna?

The 59th session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) began on Monday, March 14. Commission on Narcotic Drugs) in Vienna, Austria. The CND is the principal decision-making body of the United Nations for drug control. For example, it has the right to amend the schedules of narcotic drugs established by the international conventions of 1961 for narcotic drugs and 1971 for psychotropic substances.

This session also prepares the text to be adopted at the Special Session of the UN General Assembly by the Heads of State in April in New York.

It's an opportunity for activists around the world to make their voices heard, and to relay national initiatives such as the Cannabis Social Clubs. These activists are also in phase with the call from Kofi Annan calls for global legalization of cannabis and use this appeal to highlight the failure of cannabis prohibition and current harm reduction management.

Who is the #ProCannabisTeam?

3 French activists, united under the name #ProCannabisTeam, travelled to Vienna to take part in the CND. They include :

• Farid Ghehiouèche Farid Farid: founder of the association Cannabis Sans Frontières, board member of Chanvre & Libertés - NORML France since 2014 and initiator of the annual Cannabis March in 2001 in Paris. Farid was an activist from the start. A former president of ENCOD (European Coalition for Justice and Effective Drug Policies), he took part in the conceptualization of the Cannabis Social Clubs (CSC)
• Kenzi Riboulet Kenzi is a Barcelona-based anti-prohibitionist and co-founder of the board of Chanvre & Libertés - NORML France. Specializing in the issue of CSCs, Kenzi was a member of the short-lived French CSCs in 2013. He has also been following the debate on the international framework for drug control for many years.
• Olivier Bertrand A Lorraine-based general practitioner specializing in addiction, and in particular cannabis, he has been involved locally since 2002 in the dissemination of information and prevention on cannabis and ways of reducing the potential harm associated with its use.

What are they doing in Vienna?

The #ProCannabisTeam has one main objective: to update the CSC theme as a regulatory model allowing the «non-medical and non-scientific» use of cannabis within a legal framework, while protecting the health of consumers, reducing the risks to public health and society and the prevalence of cannabis consumption.

CSCs currently exist in Spain and Belgium. The #ProCannabisTeam is therefore drawing on these examples of implementation, and on the networks of activists and professionals in the field, to push the CND to include the legal possibility of setting up these CSCs in its text.

You can find out more about the CSC model at the official brochure of the #ProCannabisTeam.

What next?

The next event will be the’UNGASS (the Special Session of the UN General Assembly) to be held from April 19 to 21 in New York, which will be devoted to the issue of narcotics. The reform of global drug policy is expected to be brought up to date, making it all the more important for the #ProCannabisTeam and their counterparts to make their voices heard at the NEC.