Cannabis Reclassified As Less Dangerous Drug By U.N.

The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs has approved the removal of marijuana from the list of the “world’s most dangerous” drugs category where it had been classified since 1961.

Cannabis and cannabis resin were included on the list as part of the Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, (CND) a global text governing drug controls. Its change of category had been in discussion since last year when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended to alter its classification to facilitate research into its medical use and benefits.

“Cannabis, no longer considered risky narcotic,” the U.N News reports. “In reviewing a series of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations on marijuana and its derivatives, the CND zeroed-in on the decision to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside deadly, addictive opioids, including heroin.”

“The CND’s 53 Member States voted to remove cannabis – where it had been placed for 59 years – from the strictest control schedules, that even discouraged its use for medical purposes.” 

“Cannabis and cannabis resin should be scheduled at a level of control that will prevent harm caused by cannabis use and at the same time will not act as a barrier to access and to research and development of cannabis-related preparation for medical use,” reads the WHO recommendation.

The news has been celebrated around the world as a symbolic victory by lobbyists and organizations campaigning for changes in global drug policies, although the approval of the recommendation, experts agree, will have no have immediate implications as any measures related to cannabis are the purview of each government.

At the same time, international conventions by the U.N. and other world organizations serve as guides for countries to determine their legislation. The removal of marijuana from the list of dangerous drugs was approved by a 27-to-25 vote on December 2 in Vienna by the governing body of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime.

The approval of the recommendation has taken several months and difficult discussions as countries including the United States, Great Britain, the European Union and South Africa were among those in favor while Brazil, China, Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia, among others, strongly opposed it.

The Schedule IV classification of dangerous drugs features substances that are often deadly, including cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, methadone, morphine, opium and the opiate OxyContin.

“Substances classified as Schedule IV are a subset of Schedule I drugs,” CNN explains. That means that they are not only considered “highly addictive and highly liable for abuse,” but also “particularly harmful and of extremely limited medical or therapeutic value.”

The WHO research has found that marijuana carries no significant risk of death and that it has potential in treating pain and conditions such as epilepsy.

“Wednesday’s vote does not clear U.N. member nations to legalize cannabis, under the international drug control system,” writes The Guardian. “Canada and Uruguay have legalized the sale and use of cannabis for recreational purposes, but many countries have decriminalized cannabis possession.”

The commission did not back other recommendations made by the WHO such as removing “extracts and tinctures of cannabis” from Schedule I.

The symbolic move, according to CNN, may not have immediate impact on how governments control scheduled substances “but it could give a boost to medical cannabis legalization efforts in countries that look to the United Nations for guidance.”