Upcoming UN vote may be watershed moment for global medical cannabis – if only symbolic
What should not be expected is loosening of international controls
Saturday, November 28, 2020
During its reconvened 63rd session Dec. 2-4, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) could – with a simple majority vote in a virtual meeting based in Vienna – accept a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. Drugs in Schedule IV of the 1961 treaty – the current situation with cannabis or heroin – are a subset of those already in Schedule I, and Schedule I already requires the highest levels of international control. As such, a victory would be more symbolic than practical. (See also: Potential fall-out from the vote on the WHO cannabis recommendations)