The UN recognizes the medicinal properties of cannabis
The UN recognized the medicinal properties of cannabis and its resin last Wednesday. It also removed cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Schedule IV is reserved for the most harmful substances with no recognized medical potential. Recreational use will remain prohibited because the plant is still listed as a highly addictive drug. This is the first step toward facilitating research into the medicinal use of cannabis.
The UN decision follows recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2019 to remove cannabis from Schedule IV, as it is not considered “particularly harmful.” The vote among the 53 member states was closely divided. Nearly all European Union member states (except Hungary) and numerous countries in the Americas cast a simple majority of 27 votes in favor of the change. Many countries in Asia and Africa opposed it.
“It’s a first step. It eases restrictions on medicinal use, which wasn’t previously recommended. This could pave the way for governments to feel freer to regulate medicinal cannabis. But states are sovereign and make their own decisions. There are 20 countries that had already regulated cannabis despite the UN’s position,” says Manel Guzmán, Professor of Biochemistry at the Complutense University of Madrid and a member of the steering committee of the International Association for Cannabinoid Medicine. Although cannabis remains in Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, the list of controlled substances that require high levels of regulation due to their addictive potential but are accessible for medical use, such as morphine.
Medicinal properties of cannabis
According to the WHO, approximately 147 million people worldwide, representing 2.5% of the global population, consume cannabis. Science has discovered numerous medicinal properties in some derivatives of this plant. “It has demonstrated effectiveness as an inhibitor of nausea and vomiting associated with cancer patients, for spasticity in multiple sclerosis, as a pain reliever, to increase appetite and resistance to wasting syndrome (weight loss in patients with cancer or AIDS). It also has effects in inhibiting seizures in pediatric epilepsy,” Guzmán notes.
Around fifty countries have medicinal cannabis programs: Argentina decided in November to legalize home cultivation and will allow the sale of oils, creams, and other derivatives of the cannabis plant with medicinal properties, citing the WHO's recommendation. Canada, Uruguay, and the Netherlands have also legalized consumption despite contrary UN guidelines.
Guzmán advocates for the regulation of the therapeutic and recreational use of cannabis. “The key is regulation. Regulation doesn't mean increased consumption. Regulation isn't liberalization; it's control, establishing clear rules. The key question is whether we want the market to be controlled by the state or by drug traffickers.”.
The Spanish Ministry of Health has not responded as to whether the UN decision will trigger any legislative changes.
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