UN: Vote on cannabis reclassification postponed until December

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) was supposed to organize this week An important vote, aimed in particular at recognizing the medical use of cannabis—a change that would be historic. For once, this vote will not take place on the scheduled date and has been postponed to December 4.

In a document that was made available to Cannabis Wire, the CND «recalls its mandate to vote on classification recommendations… bearing in mind their complexity, in order to clarify the implications and consequences of these recommendations, as well as their rationale; and decides to vote during the intersessional meeting of the 63rd session, to be held in December 2020, in order to preserve the integrity of the international classification system.»

The more than 50 member states of the CND will therefore meet this week in Vienna, Austria, for the 63rd session, during which a handful of cannabis-related amendments to the drug treaties will be discussed, but will not be put to a vote. These range from the reclassification of cannabis and cannabis resin to the addition of a footnote noting that preparations containing cannabidiol (CBD) containing less than 0.2% of THC are not subject to classification.

In January 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended reclassifying cannabis, so that its medical uses are recognized.

Today, cannabis and cannabis resin are listed in Schedule IV and Schedule I, respectively, of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Schedule IV, the most restrictive, covers substances with little or no medical value. More specifically, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence has recommended that cannabis and cannabis resin be removed from Schedule IV and listed solely in Schedule I.

The WHO committee also made other recommendations, particularly regarding «cannabidiol preparations.» In 2018, The WHO had already issued a recommendation to deregulate CBD. Today, this recommendation aims to give concrete expression to this position by adding a note under the entry for cannabis and cannabis resins in Schedule I stating that «preparations containing primarily cannabidiol and no more than 0.2% of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol are not subject to international control.»

Steve Rolles, from the Transform Drug Policy Foundation, tweeted: « »There has been a significant debate among member states—particularly regarding the removal of cannabis from Schedule IV, which would officially recognize its medical uses,« adding that if the »situation seems confusing and politically chaotic—it’s because it is.”

Last Thursday, at the launch of the 2019 annual report of the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), which is responsible for monitoring compliance with drug treaties, INCB Chairman Cornelis de Joncheere said suggested that times have changed since 1961, as has the evidence regarding the effectiveness of cannabis.

He stated: «Next week, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs will discuss the classification of cannabis, and this is an opportunity for countries and member states to review the relevance of the classification of cannabis as it was established in 1961. … It has been nearly 60 years since then, so the medical evidence has evolved, and as a result, it will be on the agenda based on the World Health Organization’s scientific assessment.»

Although the United States’ position has not yet been made public, the Food and Drug Administration Last year, the (FDA) opened a public comment period to gather feedback before sharing the U.S. position on the WHO’s recommendations with the UN. The CND Monitor, however, provides an overview of the recommendations What will the U.S. be able to do?.