WIKIMEDIA, EVAN-AMOSCannabis is hugely popular. One-hundred-eighty-two million people use cannabis across the world and, with this level of exposure, the way cannabis is regulated matters. As does the evidence of risks and benefits to health, which underpins regulation.
Sometimes saying nothing is as telling as saying something. Silence can suggest retaining the status quo. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been silent about the international regulatory controls on cannabis since its inception in 1935. The past 80 years have brought dramatic advances in scientific knowledge about cannabis, so it is odd that WHO has not provided updated advice about its legal status.
Indeed, cannabis continues to be scheduled in the same legal category as morphine—despite opiates such as morphine being more harmful, as recent drug fatality data reveal.
Noncompliance with drug treaties
It is not surprising that many countries such as Uruguay, Portugal, and many states in the U.S. now don’t comply with the international treaties underpinned by this outdated scheduling and have ...
