The medical cannabis industry could be in for one of its
biggest wins in decades if a United Nations vote tomorrow
implicitly acknowledges the medical value of the
drug.
New Zealand medical cannabis patient groups and
the industry association this week joined nearly 200
organisations from 53 countries to present a statement at
the United Nations supporting change in the status of
cannabis as a narcotic.
During its 63rd session on
Wednesday (2 December 2020), the United Nations Commission
on Narcotic Drugs (UNCND) could – with a simple majority
vote in a virtual meeting based in Vienna – accept a World
Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation to remove cannabis
and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single
Convention on Narcotic Drugs. The proposal in question –
Recommendation 5.1 – is among six WHO cannabis-related
recommendations on the agenda and believed to be the one
with the highest likelihood of approval. It’s also
arguably the most significant recommendation for patients
and the industry as a whole.
The process of evaluating
the six WHO cannabis recommendations could come to a
conclusion next week – almost two years after they were
first unveiled.
The statement supported by the New
Zealand Medical Cannabis Council (NZMCC) is…
