Earlier this month, members from two separate organizations – Americans for Safe Access (ASA) and International Medical Cannabis Patients Coalition (IMCPC) – delivered a powerful speech at the World Health Organization (WHO) highlighting the value of medical cannabis.
During the 40th annual meeting of the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), which met between June 4th and 7th in Geneva, Switzerland, the panel was so moved by ASA’s and IMCPC’s testimony that they agreed to review medical cannabis and possibly reschedule it from the dreaded Schedule 1 category. Members of the cannabis-related organizations provided the ECDD with one critical review and 3 pre-review reports regarding the positive aspects of CBD, THC, full flowers, and resin. All the reports presented were in response to previous reports published by WHO.
Cannabis advocates came from all over the world for a chance to be part of this meeting. For years, many people have considered the schedule 1 labeling of cannabis as unfair and outdated (it was originally scheduled in 1935). “The current international policies on cannabis are outdated and are having a detrimental impact on patients in the United States and worldwide,” said Steph Sherer, Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access, “Furthermore these policies do not reflect the reality of over 30 countries globally that have passed medical cannabis laws.”
“The reports posted by WHO are supportive of nations considering rescheduling or de-scheduling CBD, pure-THC, cannabis, and cannabis extracts,” adds ASA Chief Science Officer, Jahan Marcu, Phd., “Hopefully, the work of the WHO will allow international leaders to expand access with policy recommendations and changes with reports showing that the public health risk of cannabis and its extracts are minimal.”
Should cannabis be rescheduled to a category where its medical benefits are validated, it could then be prescribed by regular doctors and possibly even be covered by certain insurance policies.
