Global group of hemp associations reaffirms legality of CBD

Eleven hemp associations from around the world have agreed on a common position concerning the CBD, They are looking for a standardization that, in their view, is implicit in existing international conventions.

The group asserts that while international drug control systems impose strict rules on the cultivation of cannabis for research and the medical sector, these provisions do not apply to hemp and the industrial uses of the Cannabis plant.

Compliance with international frameworks

Their common position is based on the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances. The single convention has been ratified by 180 states and still determines national drug laws worldwide.

The position also takes account of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988), which reinforces the 1961 and 1971 protocols, particularly in terms of repression, the groups said in a statement accompanying the document.

«The International Drug Control Conventions (IDCCs) do not regulate hemp. However, they may affect policies related to hemp, particularly due to legal uncertainties and grey areas due to the low level of definition of cannabis by the ICDCs,» says the document.

CICDs are legal frameworks that regulate the medical markets for controlled substances, plants and mushrooms. But non-medical applications of cannabis are totally exempt from control, the groups point out.

Clear exemptions

Although hemp falls under the auspices of the 1961 Convention, clear exemptions allow countries to implement policies and regulations in this area; countries that have ratified the Convention are also exempt from the provisions governing medical products if their production is strictly for industrial purposes. The 1971 Convention underlines this principle by stating that governments «may authorize [...] the use of these substances in industry for the manufacture of non-psychotropic substances or products».

The 1961 Convention also explicitly exempts seeds, fibres and «leaves when not accompanied by buds», further indicating that all parts of the cannabis plant, with the exception of «flowering or fruiting buds», do not fall within the scope of the Convention if this material is used for industrial purposes.

What the WHO says

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended in 2017 that nations do not treat pure CBD as a controlled substance, noting that «natural CBD is safe and well tolerated in humans (and animals) and is not associated with any negative public health effects.»

This was followed in 2019 by a WHO recommendation asking the United Nations to remove cannabis from Category IV, the most restrictive classification of the 1961 Single Convention.

«WHO has made it clear that cannabidiol (CBD)-based preparations containing no more than 0.3 % THC should not be placed under international control,» the associations write in the position paper.

The signatories of the common position are: CBD Asia-Pacific Union, Australian Hemp Council, British Hemp Alliance, Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, European Industrial Hemp Association, Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association (Japan), Hemp Industries Association (USA), Latin American Industrial Hemp Association, Mongolian Hemp Association, National Hemp Association (USA) and New Zealand Hemp Industries Association.