U.S. Government Supports Removing Marijuana From Strictest Global Drug Schedule

The U.S. government is backing a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation to remove marijuana from the most restrictive global drug scheduling category—though it’s opposing separate cannabis reform proposals, including one to clarify that CBD is not under international control. At a United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotic Drugs meeting in Vienna on Thursday, U.S. Ambassador Jackie Wolcott said that the cannabidiol proposal threatens to “introduce legal ambiguities and contradictions that would undermine effective drug control.” While the recommendation would simply offer clarification that CBD containing no more than 0.2 percent THC isn’t a controlled substance under international treaties, the U.S. came down against that and several other cannabis-related proposals. It should also be noted that none of WHO’s recommendations would promote the legalization of cannabis in any country. Adding a footnote to the 1961 Single Convention treaty to make that policy stipulation and adopting other technical recommendations could inadvertently allow for broadened access to THC extracts, she said, which “would undoubtedly lead to further cannabis abuse.” But Wolcott seemed to contradict herself earlier in her testimony as she explained why the U.S. is supporting a separate measure to remove marijuana from the Schedule IV category under the global treaty while maintaining its Schedule I classification. (Schedule IV under the 1961 international treaty is the most strictly controlled category, whereas under U.S. federal law, cannabis falls under Schedule I, the country’s most restrictive classification.) “The status or stigma of being in Schedule IV did not prevent the dramatic escalation of cannabis…

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Source : MJ moment
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