WHO has recommended removing cannabis from the list of harmful substances

In a landmark statement, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced its recommendation to governments to eliminate cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

This list contains narcotics considered to be particularly dangerous and of no therapeutic importance. Cannabis and cannabis resin were included in this section when the Single Convention was adopted in 1961.

The WHO recommendation, which is a very relevant step for cannabis and in particular for research on its therapeutic use, was implemented by a letter from its Director General, Tedros Adhanom, addressed to the Secretary General of the WHO. UN, António Guterres. and it will be put to the vote at the 62nd session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND), which will meet in Vienna (Austria) in March.

On occasion, the WHO Drug Experts (ECDD, for its acronym in English) now recommends removing cannabis from Agenda IV of the Narcotics Convention and placing it in a less restrictive order, Agenda I.

The report is the result of a meeting of the DCE between November 12 and November 16, 2018 and confirms the "therapeutic potential" of cannabis preparations for the treatment of pain and other medical conditions such as Epilepsy and spasticity badociated with multiple sclerosis

According to the recommendations, cannabis should be inspected at a level "that avoids the damage caused by its consumption and, at the same time, does not constitute a barrier to access and research (…) for use medical".

At its November 2017 meeting, the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Addiction concluded that "in its pure state, cannabidiol does not appear to be harmful nor to risk abuse. Therefore, since it is not a controlled substance in itself, but only as a component of cannabis extracts, current information does not warrant a change in this situation to include cannabidiol among the controlled substances ".