U.N. And Cannabis
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its 2019 World Drug Report last week, calling for public health-based drug policies. This paradigm shift from the law enforcement-driven approach seen in previous years looks more humane on the surface.
But is it really?
In an attempt to better understand where the U.N. stands concerning cannabis, this article will feature exclusive insights from various experts, who agreed to dissect the report for further clarity.
Is The U.N. Cannabis-Friendly?
While hundreds of journalists around the globe have been reporting that the U.N. supports cannabis legalization or at least decriminalization, these claims seem fairly unsubstantiated. The confusion probably derived from the World Health Organization recommending a rescheduling of cannabis and several of its key components under international drug treaties.
But, under the current leadership of the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, the world body is only advocating for alternatives to incarceration in the form of “drug courts.” And this approach is still not comprehensive or transformative enough, says Heather Haase, Chair of the New York NGO Committee on Drugs.
Haase argues that, instead of supporting life-saving harm reduction, the U.N. has been focusing most of its efforts on treatment and prevention.
Having said this, she commends the current, progressive, Secretary General António Guterres for convening a “U.N. Coordination Task Team” that has written a report titled “What we have learned in the last ten years: A summary of knowledge acquired and produced by the U.N. system on drug-related matters."
The approach highlighted in this document clearly contrasts with the UNODC’s dominant model, as it focuses on public health and human rights, putting people at the center of it all.
About The Report
The U.N.’s 2019 World Drug Report highlights a few trends including an uptick in uptick in the production of cocaine, a boom in synthetic opioid markets, and a subsequent increase in overdose fatalities. The fifth booklet, focused on cannabis and hallucinogens, takes a deep dive into the market’s “transition amid changes in legal status in some countries.”
It is important to notice that much of the data in the report reflects drug use for less than half of the participating U.N. Member States, as the reporting of such information is voluntary.
Think of it this way: it is highly unlikely that any member state is going to step forward to claim the title of drug dealing kingpin of the world. So, the data is likely incomplete.
2019 World Drug Report
But, to understand the findings and validity of the World Drug Report, with neutrality, one must take into account the member states that choose not to participate.
"It’s very much like them [the U.N.] to present only part of the picture."
“Aside from the information on cultivation trends, which I thought was pretty interesting, I thought the report placed quite a lot of emphasis on the increase in cannabis usage (allegedly) found in jurisdictions that have relaxed cannabis laws,” says Haase. “It’s very much like them to present only part of the picture,” she adds.
Diverse Interpretations
While the report states that cannabis use is rapidly rising in North America, this synopsis is potentially flawed.
The report’s analysis may not take into account the surge in reporting and self-declared cannabis users as markets go legal. In other words: it’s easier to tabulate a legal cannabis purchase than an illicit one.
Additionally, in those states in the U.S. where cannabis is legal, there have also been upsides, according to the Berkeley Journal of Criminal Law.
- Fewer people are being arrested
- Instead of arresting people these states are now creating jobs
- Have not led to increased youth rates
- DWI/DUI arrests for alcohol and other drugs have declined
Advocates for the cannabis plant will argue that even if its usage is on the rise, that is not necessarily negative, especially when viewed concerning the surge in usage of other drugs including alcohol and opioids.
Haase complains that the reports’ authors make a big deal about the amount of THC in cannabis products (which, to be fair, can be regulated).
On the other end of the spectrum is the ubiquitously trumpeted anti-cannabis legalization group Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM), which usually argues cannabis nowadays is “not your grandpa’s marijuana,” while simultaneously alluding to the evils of commercialization.
SAM’s president, Kevin A. Sabet, Ph.D., argues, via an exclusive email, that “The U.N.’s position is not based on ideologies or parties; it is based on science. The science on marijuana is clear: today’s marijuana is much more harmful than in the past, and is directly linked to mental illness, like psychosis and schizophrenia, heart problems, memory and cognition issues, and dangerous driving.”
"The U.N.’s position is not based on ideologies or parties; it is based on science."
In his view, “None of the senior scientists at the U.N. think marijuana legalization is a good thing, and several reports from different U.N. bodies have continued to call out the US for its stance on marijuana. Remember, there is a big difference between decriminalization and legalization.”
But Haase disagrees.
“I see what the U.N. is doing here, which is to plant the seed that cannabis legalization is a failed experiment and should be reversed. It will be up to the NGO community to continually push them to present the other side, or to present it ourselves.”
"I see what the U.N. is doing here, which is to plant the seed that cannabis legalization is a failed experiment and should be reversed."
The Meeting
The U.N.’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held an intersessional meeting on Monday, June 24, in which another U.N. body, the World Health Organization (WHO) answered questions about its recently issued recommendations on cannabis.
The main takeaway from the session, according to Haase, is that it is not at all a foregone conclusion that Member States will accept the WHO’s recommendations or that they will hold a vote in March 2020 as is expected. “Also, Russia is pushing back on everything, including the WHO’s decision not to schedule CBD,” adds Haase.
Benjamin Phillips, MIPH and Special Projects Coordinator for the Harm Reduction Coalition says his main takeaway from the report is the 585,000 deaths associated with drug use (in 2017) are all needless and preventable.
“There is absolutely no reason for over half a million drug deaths. We have all the tools needed to prevent and reverse opioid overdose: drug checking, fentanyl testing strips, and naloxone,” says Phillips. He also advocates for access to clean needles to be readily available to drug users.
“Hepatitis C and HIV are preventable with high coverage access of sterile syringes (syringe access programs –referred to needle-syringe programs in the report), and hepatitis C can be treated successfully with direct-acting antivirals if people are screened. What is missing is political leadership and funding. Political leadership on harm reduction is needed to address stigma and to end the criminalization of people who use drugs.”
Phillips concurs with Haase’s remarks mentioned above on the U.N. system-wide coordination Task Team. In the Executive Summary of the report "human rights" is only mentioned twice, in 53 pages, despite human rights being one of the U.N.’s core objectives. “This is just one example of UNODC’ siloing’ drugs,” he criticizes.
Authors' note: a previous version of this article stated that, even under the progressive leadership of current Secretary-General António Guterres, the U.N. is only advocating for alternatives to incarceration in the form of "drug courts." However, people familiar with the issue have pointed out a difference in the views expressed in the UNODC’s World Drug Report, which only pushes for alternatives to incarceration in the form of drug courts, and views expressed in numerous ocassions by Guterres, who supports a more humane approach.
