WHO postpones cannabis recommendations to 2019

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced yesterday, in Vienna, that the specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) will temporarily withhold the results related to the evaluation of Cannabis, whose recommendations are now expected for January 2019. and presented further recommendations on an opioid analgesic and on synthetic cannabinoids.

The WHO recommendations should have been presented at the 61st Commission on Drugs and Narcotic Drugs of the United Nations (UN), which are taking place these days in Vienna, Austria, and were seen as driving forces for the reclassification of Cannabis.

Earlier this year, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD) released a pre-review of Cannabis that included several positive findings and concrete evidence. "Cannabis has never caused a fatal overdose," the Committee said, and "research shows that the plant's components can effectively treat pain and improve sleep, for example."

The pre-review results led to a more in-depth critical review, to be submitted ahead of the UN Commission on Drugs and Narcotic Drugs (CND) December event to determine whether cannabis should remain in the stricter international classification of medicines. However, during the WHO presentation, the Committee said it needed more time “for a better investigation”, according to the International Drug Policy Consortium.

Michael Krawitz, a US Air Force veteran and advocate for legalization, along with some supporters of international reform, said in a press release that "this decision to withhold the results of the critical cannabis review appears to be politically motivated."

It is expected that the topic of reclassification will return to the CND in March 2019, given the urgency of adapting the regulations, as a result of the repeated justifications of numerous Governments, including Portuguese, in which international conventions are cited as factors that prevent the approval of more advanced legislation. progressive.
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