The World Health Organization believes it’s time to move forward with cannabis
Last Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly stated that it’s time to let go of the past. It published a letter, in which it asserted that cannabis, as well as cannabis resin, should no longer be defined as controlled substances and that they should be removed from international drug treaties. The organization specifically stated that cannabis should no longer be considered a Schedule IV drug in accordance with the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
The convention defines drugs that are believed to not have any therapeutic value. There is already more than substantial evidence to support the role cannabis plays in treating a variety of ailments and afflictions, and this number continues to grow on virtually a daily basis. As a Schedule IV drug, cannabis has been lumped in with hardcore drugs such as heroin and LSD.
The WHO also asserted that controls of cannabidiol (CBD) that contain under 0.2% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) be removed.
In response to the letter, the president and founder of Americans for Safe Access, Steph Sherer, stated, “We are extremely pleased that the World Health Organization has finally recognized the therapeutic potential of cannabis and its derivatives as a safe and effective medicine. With an international rescheduling or descheduling of cannabis, the U.S. government can no longer use the excuse that cannabis has no medical value.”
She added, “It is now incumbent that our government change legislation at the federal level to eliminate barriers to research and access for patients throughout the country,” he said. “It is time our government stepped up to provide relief for patients that have been suffering for years throughout the U.S.”
Dr. Pavel Pacht, the director of international regulatory affairs for the International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute, as well as the former Deputy Secretary of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), stated, “These recommendations were inevitable and their adoptions by the U.N. Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) would enhance public health globally. We do not expect that the CND would vote against these recommendations as they come from scientific experts and are based on rigorous scientific review.”
Scientists have now been able to show the WHO what many have known all along – cannabis has substantial benefits. With a recommendation from an organization as highly respected as the WHO, governments will have a difficult time justifying continued cannabis suppression.
