[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”World Health Organization and Cannabis” google_fonts=”font_family:Merriweather%3A300%2C300italic%2Cregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:300%20light%20regular%3A300%3Anormal”][vc_column_text]From the 4th to the 8th of June the World Health Organization (WHO) is holding a meeting that could seriously challenge the Schedule 1 status of cannabis on the federal level. The WHO is comprised of 194 member countries, including the USA, and whose primary role is to direct and coordinate international health within the United Nations’ system.
This meeting will be the 40th meeting of the WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence specially convened and dedicated to carrying out pre-reviews of cannabis and cannabis-related substances: Cannabis plant and cannabis resin, Extracts and tinctures of cannabis*, Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), Isomers of THC. There are early signs that this meeting will come out in favor of cannabis as a recent study on pure CBD by the WHO stated “CBD exhibits no effects indicative of any abuse or dependence potential. … CBD is generally well tolerated with a good safety profile.”
There are also early signs that this meeting will have major effects on how the US Federal Government deals with cannabis. In preparation for the WHO meeting, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under Trump, put out a notice asking for citizen input on whether marijuana should be reclassified. Over 7000 comments were gathered in April, most of them in favor of rescheduling.
For the Department of Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) a Schedule 1 drug is a drug that the federal government believes has “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse.” For reference, other Schedule 1 drugs include heroin, LSD, and ecstasy. Marijuana’s status has not only inhibited scientifically sound research within the US into its potential medical benefits, but has caused undue hardship on the lives of many in the California cannabis industry.
The United Nation World Health Organization’s formal review into cannabis in June could provide even more momentum to the recent amplified domestic push for cannabis rescheduling. If the WHO comes out in favor of marijuana it will be close to impossible to deny the medical benefits of cannabis on any valid grounds, paving the way for legalization and to the end of worrying whether the Feds will show up at your cannabis business to arrest you.
Meeting Date: June 4-8 2018, Geneva
Visit the WHO meeting website here
Read more here
For more on DEA drug scheduling here and here[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]