While this story starts with an unhappy ending, that’s not quite the end of this story
“I am so disappointed. This meeting was another in a series of historic moments of the UN ignoring the issue. This was a chance to make history and yet it looks like we’ve ended up with more of the same…”
Farid Ghehioueche, the head of advocacy for the cannabis think tank FAAAT (For Alternative Approaches to Addiction, Think- & do -tank), looks exhausted. The past week has seen the culmination of months of hard work leading up to this point in Vienna, in the first week of December where FAAAT (pronounced ‘fat’) was at the UN building to hear the recommendations of the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the UN Commission of Narcotic Drugs (CND) regarding the scheduling of cannabis.
It was widely expected that the WHO would deliver a landmark recommendation to remove cannabis as a Schedule lV and Schedule I drug, which it has been since the UN adopted the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961. In the eyes of the UN’s international treaties, cannabis is still considered a harmful drug without medical value and this stance is a huge influence on national policies.
That landmark recommendation didn’t come. Instead the WHO announced that it wasn’t in a position to publish their statement. This came as a crushing blow to the cannabis activists present at the meeting inside the UN building. They had hoped that the WHO would suggest rescheduling, and that this would be voted on by member states when they convene in March for a High-Level UN Session on drug policy to develop a plan of action for the next 10 years.
This UN Session will set the tone of UN policy on drugs for the next 10 years and overturn its current policy, which still harks back to the sentiment of its 1998, hopelessly optimistic slogan – ‘A drug free world: we can do it!’. This policy is based on three pillars – reducing demand and supply and tackling organised crime and money laundering – and were basically reiterated in the 10 year review in 2009.
In doing so, argues the independent Global Commission on Drug Policy, the UN failed to acknowledge the lack of effectiveness of adopting punitive measures to control supply and demand, acknowledge the effect of globalisation (creating a far different world to that of 1961 when the original Convention was drafted), and the UN’s own Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encouraging partnership and cooperation on major issues such as human rights, gender equality and health and safety in developing economies.
So, not a good day for Farid and fellow activists from FAAAT and the other cannabis organisations that had been contributing to the debate as representatives of civil society. Not a good day either for the international cannabis community which will possibly endure the consequences of this lack of decision for another 10 years. But that’s the way politics goes – we only have to look at the lack of agreement in the UK Parliament to see how hard it is to get the majority behind a decision, especially one so controversial.
While this story starts with an unhappy ending, that’s not quite the end of this story. Into the mix, FAAAT had decided to organise the International Cannabis Policy Conference, a stone’s throw away from the UN building, at the Austria Centre Vienna. In an ideal world it would have been the perfect victory party. In reality it was more of a regroup, but that did not make it any less impressive or inspirational. The next two days saw the gathering of some of the cannabis scene’s brightest sparks from the worlds of science, research, business and politics who are helping to frame the new debate about cannabis and working to place it in a mainstream narrative.
“We specifically targeted this conference to tie in with the CND meeting, ” explained Farid. “Our approach is different. We are not making new demands, but trying to match our demands with the UN’s own agenda. In the past, activist activity has too often been a token presence, on the fringe of an event like this week’s UN meeting, but we wanted our conference to reflect the reality of the situation. This is how FAAT sees itself – providing good advocacy at the right time, in the right place and involving the right players and the right information. ”
Meanwhile, in Nepal, 'legalization' is not really a concept that applied to the small farmers who have traditionally grown hemp crops for food - one kilo of hemp seeds giving households access to three kilos of rice in the (local) market
Over two days the International Cannabis Policy Conference hosted a series of talks, round table discussions and workshops involving some pioneering forces working for cannabis change. There were inevitably attendees from the world of business, but the suits were in the minority at this event. Issues that took centre stage at the ICPC included the environment, access to cannabis-based medicines, gender issues, harm reduction, regulation of new markets and sustainability, particularly in relation to the UN’s own Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The list of speakers reflected the diversity of the programme and Weed World recommends that you seek out the presentations will be available online through the FAAAT website, but here’s a taster of some of the big themes that were discussed over the weekend:
With climate change high on the international agenda at the moment, there was much interest in hemp as a building material and energy source. Carl Martel, a scientist researching industrial hemp, revealed some of the projects he has been working on as a research scientist. These stem from the ethos he has adopted, first coined by the Austrian inventor, Viktor Schauberger; “first understand nature and then copy it.” Projects Martel has been working on include Hempcrete and cannabis plastic but the project that created the most buzz was a hemp battery that can literally be grown in the ground (by turning CBD into quinones in an alkaline environment). There was an almost audible gasp in the room when he revealed a hemp brick that could generate 5 volts/5 amps and was pictured powering a tablet.
Medical cannabis and its future potential was a theme explored by several speakers which looked at the potential of the plant as a medicine for different sectors of society. Topics included those affected through Opioid addiction and the increasing adoption of cannabis by the West’s ageing populations, where it is starting to be seen as a healthier alternative than polymedication (i.e. daily doses of multiple pills – many prescribed just to prevent side effects of others being taken).
As this was an ‘international’ conference there was also a refreshing insight into the cannabis world outside of Europe and the USA continents which so often dominate the debate – not just in cannabis but at world policy level. French sociologist, Kenza Afsahi, gave an insight into the challenges traditional hash farmers in Morocco’s Rif mountains are experiencing in this new era of cannabis markets; how small-scale farming and traditional cannabis varieties have been replaced by bigger operations where hybrid strains that bring bigger yields require more water, pesticides and maintenance and has led to increased violent conflict between big and small farmers.
Meanwhile, in Nepal, ‘legalization’ is not really a concept that applied to the small farmers who have traditionally grown hemp crops for food – one kilo of hemp seeds giving households access to three kilos of rice in the (local) market. South African activist, Julian Stobbs, spoke about how there were far too many ‘experts’ from the North (hemisphere) pitching up and telling local people how they should be doing things, when locals have a history of use that goes back hundreds of years.
Throughout the conference regulation was a common theme. We have this new market opening up, on a world level, and yet that picture is a hotchpotch of regulation regarding quality and health assurance when it comes to cannabis as a consumer product – from the commercial weed supplying dispensaries to ‘snake oil’ CBD sellers. While in the USA there are moves towards some kind of official regulation, in other countries it is up to people to try and protect the consumer, which is the ethos behind the Spanish social club system as explained by Patricia Amiguet, president of the Federation of Cannabis Associations in Catalonia.
There were ethical questions too. “What happens when a movement becomes an industry?” asked US cannabis lawyer, Bob Hoban, who provided the following analogy to illustrate the importance of building a sustainable model for the business that embraced the cannabis community. “The people who moved to bring in environmental policies such as recycling. Did those activists get a role in the recycling industry?” In a round table session, English anthropologist, Dr Jonathan Newman, challenged the notion that the American way is being pushed as the only way, which drew a round of applause from the audience. US attorney, Bob Hoban, was quick to respond by saying that he preferred to see it in terms of the US “Taking the bullets… The lesson from the USA is to do what we do, but learn from our mistakes.”
While it remains to be seen if the WHO is holding back on its statement because it is controversial and they need to get the timing right (i.e. recommending rescheduling), one thing is for sure – the days of the cannabis debate being sidelined to the fringes are over. It is important to remember that all the progress that has been made towards cannabis legalization has come from the seeds sown by cannabis activists since 1961. That’s almost 60 years of journeying, and if there’s one thing that all those activists appreciate it is that the road of progress has many twists and turns along the way.
Fifteen years ago, Farid was standing outside the UN building with other cannabis protestors, releasing balloons filled with cannabis seeds. In 2018 he and his team were welcomed through the front door of the UN as civic society stakeholders contributing to the international debate. Despite this setback they will continue to push for that door to open wider. “So,” Farid smiles. “We didn’t get the result we hoped for this time, but we continue. Now we will target the UN meeting in March…”
The 62nd Session of the CND will convene in Vienna, 14 -15 March 2019, ‘taking stock of the implementation of the commitments made to jointly address and counter the world drug problem.’
By Che Capri
Originally published in Weed World Magazine issue 139
