U.S. Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced legislation Friday that would instruct the United Nations (U.N.) to deschedule cannabis from Schedule 1 of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 and treat cannabis like any other agricultural commodity.
In 2020, the U.N.’s Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) adopted a proposal to delete cannabis from its strictest international drug category.
“Many countries would deschedule cannabis and reevaluate how cannabis is classified if the U.N. did so,” Mace said. “Cannabis has been shown to be effective in the treatment of numerous medical conditions such as epilepsy, PTSD, cancer pain relief, nausea, and chronic and terminal illnesses. Descheduling at the U.N. would support global research into how cannabis can treat a wide range of ailments and conditions.”
Mace said it was time to recognize that marijuana was not as dangerous as other drugs.
We need to shift perception on the international stage; cannabis is not as dangerous as heroin, and the sooner our policies reflect this, the more lives saved,” Mace said on Twitter.
The legislation would also call on U.S. officials to press the U.N. to “expunge and forgive penalties relating to cannabis for prior offenders and treat cannabis as a commodity similar to other agricultural commodities.”
“Scientific research has shown that cannabis has wide-ranging positive effects on chronic illness treatment,” Lee said. “The classification of cannabis as a schedule one drug is outdated, out of touch, and should be addressed not only in the United States but around the world. The United States should be leading the way on cannabis reform on the global stage, and descheduling at the United Nations would be a great start.”