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Countries can reform under UN law

The international drug control regimes are outdated and do not meet current human rights standards and public health needs. Provisions in three historically prohibitionist United Nations treaties – the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, and the 1988 Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances – […]

So what about hemp and CBD in China?

While the US only recently passed the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized industrial hemp, China is already ahead and has become the largest producer of hemp in the world with 400,000 acres/162,000 ha. Since a couple of years, China has also legalized the extraction of CBD from industrial hemp, which has been used in the increasing […]

UN drugs watchdog out of tune with reality

Earlier this week, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) – the UN watchdog on compliance with the international drug control conventions – has released its latest position on cannabis which largely warns against ‘medical cannabis’ rather than welcoming the many advances in the therapeutic applications of the plant. Recreational and medical cannabis are “contrary to […]

Is the EU killing CBD products?

You might soon find yourself looking for your CBD infused products you were buying at your local drugstore, but they’ve suddenly vanished. CBD could soon only be available in pharmacies.  “Until a further update from the EU, consumers, vendors, and manufacturers may find that the sale of CBD oils, supplements and food is disrupted” warns […]

Take medical use of cannabis seriously, patients can’t wait

After the World Health Organization (WHO) initially failed to produce their recommendations, on February 1st their recommendations to reschedule cannabis were leaked. Last week, the European Parliament came with their response: take medicinal cannabis seriously. It’s an important message, as clinical trials and the entire pharma chain is taking far too long for patients. The product […]

EU parliament calls to take medical cannabis seriously, patients hopeful

On Wednesday, February 13th, the European Parliament adopted a medicinal cannabis resolution following the news earlier about the World Health Organization’s recommendations to reschedule cannabis. European Parliament recognizes the value of medicinal use of cannabis In the press release distributed by the European Parliament, bullet points are: – The EU should stimulate innovation in medical […]

Ethics in Cannabis with Dr. Jonathan Newman

t the International Cannabis Policy Conference organized by FAAAT, we got to interview Dr. Jonathan Newman. Dr. Jonathan Newman is a social anthropologist at the University of Sussex, where he researches the cannabis industry in Europe. You may have heard about the Paris Agreement before, as Trump famously said he would withdraw the United States […]