Even as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promised to speed up regulations around the CBD , the process seems to be slowing down again. The FDA has announced the opening of a new public consultation period during which it is seeking comments from Americans on the potential reclassification of cannabis.
Citizens will have 30 additional days to give their opinion, which will be taken into account when rewriting the law. When the FDA initially sought comments to define the US position on the subject in March , she "stressed the need to shorten the comment period so that the US Department of Health and Human Services could carry out the necessary measures and listen to the United Nations. "
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that cannabis, as well as cannabis resin, be removed from Annex IV , the most restrictive category (reserved for substances considered particularly harmful with medical benefits). limited) of the 1961 Convention on Drugs signed by countries around the world. WHO further asserted that the CBD should not be classified at all, citing evidence that the compound "has no potential for abuse or potential for addiction".
Cannabis and cannabis resin would also be included in Annex I of the 1961 Treaty, whereas they are currently classified in duplicate in Annexes I and IV as the least dangerous (contrary to the US classification). The body also wants delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and its isomers to be completely removed from a separate 1971 drug treaty, and to be added to Schedule I of the 1961 Convention, according to one document. WHO has not yet officially published, but would circulate among the advocates of cannabis reform.
Reclassifying cannabis under international treaties would reflect a growing understanding of the plant in one of the world's most influential intergovernmental organizations. The current restrictive status of cannabis in the United Nations has not prevented Canada and Uruguay from moving forward to end the prohibition, as Mexico should soon do.