WHO calls for removal of cannabis from dangerous drugs list

(Telam) .- After nearly six decades, the

World Health Organization

(WHO) advised that cannabis and its medical derivatives be removed from the list of the most dangerous drugs. The international organization has requested the elimination of the plant from the IV list of the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs; that is the most restrictive category of the 1961 Convention on Drugs in which substances are considered "harmful and of limited medical benefit".

The countries that adhered to this agreement, including Argentina, were committed to viewing cannabis as a "dangerous narcotic and of no therapeutic importance".

However, the UN agency has requested an urgent review of the ban on cannabis by recognizing its medicinal properties. The report supports the "therapeutic potential" of cannabis preparations for the treatment of pain and other medical conditions such as epilepsy and spasticity badociated with multiple sclerosis.

The WHO recommendation – put into effect by a letter from its Director General, Tedros Adhanom, addressed to the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres – will be put to the vote at the 62nd session of the Commission of the which will meet in Vienna, Austria, in March. The commission has 53 member states and it is sufficient if a simple majority of the people present vote for the order to become an international agreement.

Historically, countries such as Russia and China have opposed drug policy reforms, while others, such as Canada and Uruguay, have changed their drug policy. acceptance of cannabis, should subscribe to the recommendation of WHO.

It is estimated that 7.2% of European adults, or about 24 million people, consume
cannabis in the last year. Worldwide, 192 million people trade drugs in different markets, from countries where the ban is strong to those where the sale is legal.