The Benefits of Cannabis and CBD Recognized by the WHO
Originally classified as one of the most dangerous substances (category 4), cannabis could be reclassified into a less strict category. This initiative is to the credit of the WHO, which highlights its therapeutic potential.
The benefits of cannabis and CBD recognized by the WHO.
The 1961 Convention on Narcotic Drugs is clear: cannabis is a psychoactive substance with risks, hence its classification in "Category IV", the highest when it comes to evaluating the danger of a drug.
More than 55 years later, a major update is about to take place: the WHO, through a letter from its Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, is asking the United Nations to formally reclassify cannabis and its key components (including CBD) within international drug treaties.
The review process has already been initiated several months ago. To date, drug addiction experts have concluded that cannabis and its components have therapeutic virtues. Therefore, it is necessary to reclassify them to make experimentation possible: this refers to "Category I", the least strict in terms of control and regulation.
Legal cannabis and CBD worldwide.
The final decision is expected in March, once submitted for approval by the 53 member states of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
This would represent a major step forward, as it seemed inconceivable a few years ago. But it is clear that the use of cannabis and its components has become commonplace in some countries: we immediately think of the example of Colorado in the United States (medical cannabis legalized in 2000 - recreational legalized in 2012), Canada (cannabis legalization in 2018) or even Switzerland (legalization and commercialization of CBD products). Three cases that illustrate the possibilities, but the list of countries that have opened the way to cannabis and CBD is infinitely longer. Mindsets are evolving, for the benefit of research and well-being.
The prospect of therapeutic cannabis in France.
If the United Nations and the WHO manage to agree, and if the member states of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs give their approval... France could then seriously consider therapeutic cannabis. The ANSM has already expressed its support, the government must now approve it in order to regulate and normalize a subject that represents a considerable market in the future.
Some health professionals have chosen to take the lead: this is the case of the Timone hospital in Marseille, which is preparing to test a medical protocol based on the administration of cannabis and its derivatives to a panel of thirty people, including patients and healthy non-smoking volunteers. An approach that should be imitated if it proves successful.
