As medical marijuana supporters try to expand investigative studies and the use of pot in the U.S., some are taking the case to the United Nations. Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), and Michael Krawitz, executive director of Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access, met with other organizations at the UN this week in preparation for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS 2016) on drug policy, scheduled for April 19-21.
The objective of the sit down was to provide input for a report urging that global policies on medical marijuana be incorporated in the drug policy report. The UN has not faced this issue in a special session in almost two decades. International leaders, drug policy reform groups, patients, and citizens are encouraging the UN to reform its approach.
“The current international policies on cannabis are outdated and are having a detrimental impact on patients in the United States and worldwide,” Sherer told the National Pain Report.
“New policies should take into account new clinical research, product safety protocols for cannabis cultivation, manufacturing, and distribution, and global patient needs,” Sherer added.
The UN Single Convention treaty has been used by governments all over the world, as well as the United States, to derail attempts to reform national medical cannabis laws and research.
At the “Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoids: Policy, Research and Medical Practice” conference in Prague last March, representatives of organizations of medical cannabis patients from 13 countries met to establish the International Medical Cannabis Patient Coalition (IMCPC) and to put together a declaration addressing UNGASS 2016. Sherer and Krawitz say they will relay the call for action outlined by the declaration, which calls for the UN to take a series of actions, including rescheduling marijuana.
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