In what is now perceived as a win for stoners, the United Nations has delisted cannabis(Weed) off the world’s most dangerous drugs.
Yesterday, after following recommendation from the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ Commission for Narcotic Drugs voted to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961.
The Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, a decision which is expected to eventually have a far-reaching impact on marijuana research and medical use throughout the world.
Prior to Wednesday’s vote, cannabis and cannabis resin had been listed alongside drugs such as heroin, methadone, morphine, opium and cocaine.
The U.N. Commission for Narcotic Drugs includes 53 member states, and the vote on marijuana reclassification was very close, passing by a 27 to 25 margin (with an abstention from Ukraine).
The United States and the vast majority of European nations voted in favor.
China, Pakistan and Russia were among the countries that were opposed to the reclassification.
The commission also considered five other recommendations (such as placing specific THC pharmaceutical preparations in Schedule III of the 1961 treaty), but none of the other five garnered enough support to pass.
“Something like this does not mean that legalization is just going to happen around the world,” said Jessica Steinberg, managing director at the cannabis consulting firm Global
In Kenya, the Late Kibera MP Kenneth Okoth has drafted a bill to legalise marijuana before he succumbed to cancer.
The bill has now become a political joystick with Nairobi governor Mike Sonko yapping on how he and other MPs used to smoke in the Parliament premises.
Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina statered that 80 percent of MPs are active weed smokers.
