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WHO
https://www.who.int/teams/health-product-and-policy-standards/controlled-substances/who-review-of-cannabis-and-cannabis-related-substances
In January 2019, the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, made a series of recommendations to the United Nations to update the scope of control of cannabis and cannabis-related substances. These new recommendations reflect the emerging therapeutic role of cannabis-based medicines while continuing to prevent diversion, misuse, and other public health harms that can result from cannabis use.
These recommendations are the result of a multi-year review process conducted by the Expert Committee on Drug Dependence (ECDD), an independent scientific advisory body to the WHO. Based on a scientific assessment of potential health risks and therapeutic benefits, the ECDD recommends the appropriate classification of psychoactive substances in international drug conventions. The review process leading to these recommendations may begin with a surveillance phase to monitor risk and therapeutic use and to assess available data to determine whether a full review is necessary and to confirm that evidence-based recommendations are feasible. A subsequent screening review allows for an initial in-depth assessment, which may be followed by a critical review to develop timeline recommendations.
This ECDD review of cannabis and cannabis-related substances was initially requested by Member States in 2009 through CND resolution 52/5. The Committee then launched the process in 2012 with a review of cannabis at the 35th, 37th, and 38th ECDD meetings. The decision for a formal review was recommended based on:
Increased use of cannabis and its components for medicinal purposes;
The emergence of new cannabis-related pharmaceutical preparations for therapeutic use;
and The fact that cannabis had never been the subject of a prior formal review or critical review by the ECDD. Formal reviews were conducted at the 39th, 40th, and 41st ECDD sessions and considered both the best available scientific evidence and data from Member States provided through the WHO annual ECDD questionnaire. In addition, Member States, members of the public, civil society groups, representatives of the pharmaceutical industry, and other stakeholders were also able to comment on the assessments and recommendations of the Drug Evaluation Program (DEP) during open sessions at all DEP meetings. A vote on the recommendations of the 41st DEP was postponed to allow for further dialogue between the DEP and Member States through several rounds of questions and answers during the intersessional meetings of the National Drug Council (NDC).
