Germany’s recent move to legalize marijuana has really stirred the pot in Europe. Now the United Nations (UN) says that legalizing cannabis for recreational use violates international treaties.
Last week, the UN’s International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) published its 2023 annual report, in which it voiced concerns over efforts to reform cannabis and psychedelics laws in the U.S. and marijuana legalization in Germany.
The board’s finger-wagging highlighted three Single Convention drug treaties that it said were being violated.
“In its interactions with the Government of Germany,” wrote the INCB, “the Board has reiterated that measures to permit the use of cannabis for non-medical purposes are inconsistent” with the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, the 1988 Convention and the 1971 Convention.
Last month the government of Germany legalized marijuana possession but refused to set up a regulated market. Instead, consumers will have to purchase weed at non-commercial marijuana clubs that are limited to 500 members.
The government originally floated the idea of creating a market in which marijuana could be sold in dispensaries and pharmacies, but concerns over violating European Union drug policies killed the plan.
The INCB report notes the course change and applauds it.
“The Board has had ongoing discussions with the authorities in Germany and has taken note of the evolution of the originally planned control measures following concerns expressed by the European Commission,” it said.
However, the INCB says the new law violates the treaties by failing to limit the use of narcotic drugs exclusively to medical and scientific purposes; by failing to criminalize the production, manufacture, sale and distribution of psychotropic substances and by failing to criminalize marijuana cultivation for illicit purposes.
Regarding legalization efforts in the U.S., the INCB brought up an analysis from 2022 that found the U.S. might already be in violation of international drug treaties by allowing state-level legalization of recreational marijuana.
“The apparent tension between these provisions and the trend towards legalization must be addressed by the signatories to the three drug control conventions,” it wrote.
The report noted that states are continuing to legalize marijuana at a growing rate.
“The Board has repeatedly expressed its concern that these developments may be inconsistent with the country’s legal obligations as a party to the three international drug conventions,” it said.
It also highlighted President Joe Biden’s decision to pardon federal convictions of simple marijuana possession.
“While the presidential pardon does not expunge the existing conviction, it removes civil or legal restrictions, such as on the rights to vote, hold office or sit on a jury, and lifts barriers to housing, employment and educational opportunities,” the report notes, presumably with disapproval from the board.
Oddly, the report failed to mention the Biden administration’s recent efforts to reschedule marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act. This failure may not bode well for those efforts, since the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has been deliberating the shift for several months, and analysts have pointed out that it may choose to keep things as they are in light of it being a violation of the international drug treaties.
In recent years, there has been some indication that the UN is willing to move past the failed War On Some Drugs, although last week’s report makes reform in the near future seem unlikely.
However, the UN did reclassify marijuana in 2020, removing it from the Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs—classified as having limited medical use—following a World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation. The removal didn’t affect the drug’s legal status, but it is still listed under Schedule I of the international drug control system, meaning it’s considered addictive with a high risk of abuse.
The move was supported by the U.S. delegation, which made a statement following the vote: “The vote of the United States … is consistent with the science demonstrating that while a safe and effective cannabis-derived therapeutic has been developed, cannabis itself continues to pose significant risks to public health and should continue to be controlled under the international drug control conventions.”
Germany’s decision to legalize weed—no matter how limited—could be the necessary push that encourages other influential European countries to reform their cannabis policies. If the U.S. follows Canada’s lead and legalizes marijuana at the federal level, and more European countries follow Germany’s lead, at a certain point, the UN will be forced to rethink and possibly revisit those international drug treaties.
The INCB report did not fail to recognize the speed at which psychedelic reform seems to be storming through the U.S. According to the report, growing interest in psychedelics as therapeutic drugs coupled with unregulated markets poses a risk to “vulnerable populations.”
“While clinical studies on the use of psychedelics are conducted in some countries,” wrote the board, “most of the health, wellness and tourism businesses involving the use of psychedelics have been operating without much regulatory oversight. Unsupervised and experimental use of those substances, even in microdoses as self-medication, may put some vulnerable populations at risk.”
The report never explained what those risks are, and they are anything but clear, considering most psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms and LSD don’t carry the danger of overdose.
The board highlighted state-level psychedelics legalization and decriminalization that has happened in Washington, Colorado and Oregon. It also noted psychedelic policy reform being enacted in Canada.
On a positive note, previous INCB reports have also raised concerns over the evolution of U.S. drug policies, and while “breaking an international treaty” sounds ominous to the layman’s ear, the UN has never mentioned taking any action against the U.S., meaning the board may be nothing more than a barking dog. And dogs that constantly bark tend to lose their voices and become easily ignored.