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| Plant or Pills |
On March 25, 1972, the Final Act to the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961, as Amended by the 1972 Protocol Amendment, was signed. Although not self-executing, the provisions of the Single Convention must be incorporated into the domestic law by legislative acts in the signing party's country.
The Preamble to this International treaty, states the aim, purpose and justification for the Convention:
"PREAMBLE
The Parties,
Concerned with the health and welfare of mankind,
Recognizing that the medical use of narcotic drugs continues to be indispensable for the relief of pain and suffering and that adequate provision must be made to ensure the availability of narcotic drugs for such purposes,
Recognizing that addiction to narcotic drugs constitutes a serious evil for the individual and is fraught with social and economic danger to mankind,
Conscious of their duty to prevent and combat this evil,
Considering that effective measures against the abuse of narcotic drugs require co-ordinated and universal action,
Understanding that such universal action calls for international co-operation guided by the same principles and aimed at common objectives,
Acknowledging the competence of the United Nations in the field of narcotics control and desirous that the international organs concerned should be within the framework of that Organization,
Desiring to conclude a generally acceptable international convention replacing existing treaties on narcotic drugs, limiting such drugs to medical and scientific use, and providing for continuous international co-operation and control for the achievement of such aims and objectives,
Hereby agree" ... to Articles 1 - 50 and the four schedules appended, all of which comprise the International Treaty on Drug Control.
Article 1 provides for Definitions applicable and used throughout the Convention;
Article 2 describes the Substances Under Control and within each schedule and the method of control applicable.
Schedule 1 includes cannabis and is subject to all measures of control applicable to drugs under the Convention.
Schedule IV drugs, also included in Schedule 1, subject to all measures of control "including adopting special measures of control which are necessary having regard to the particularly dangerous properties of those drugs ..."
Article 28 - CONTROL OF CANNABIS
1. If a Party permits the cultivation of the cannabis plant for the
production of cannabis or cannabis resin, it shall apply thereto the system of
controls as provided in article 23 (licensing requirements) respecting the control of the opium poppy.
2. This Convention shall not apply to the cultivation of the cannabis plant
exclusively for industrial purposes (fibre and seed) or horticultural purposes.
3. The Parties shall adopt such measures as may be necessary to prevent
the misuse of, and illicit traffic in, the leaves of the cannabis plant.
Article 33 - POSSESSION OF DRUGS
The Parties shall not permit the possession of drugs except under legal authority.
Article 35 - ACTION AGAINST THE ILLICIT TRAFFIC
Having due regard to their constitutional, legal and administrative systems, ...
Article 36 - PENAL PROVISIONS
1. Subject to its constitutional limitations, ... cultivation, production, manufacture, extraction, preparation, possession, offering, offering for sale, distribution, purchase, sale, delivery, brokerage, dispatch, transport, importation and exportation ... shall be punishable offences ... and that serious offences shall be liable to adequate punishment particularly by imprisonment or other penalties of deprivation of liberty
2. ...as an alternative to conviction or in addition to, the Parties may provide treatment, education, aftercare, rehabilitation and social integration ..
Compare the above to the following:
Compare the above to the following:
In reviewing the minutes to a 1971 United Nation 'symposium' discussing the research surrounding the chemistry and biological activity of cannabis, the following was noted:
Cannabis research at the Division of Narcotic Drugs, United Nations, Geneva is mandated with the primary function of internationally coordinating cannabis research in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
The emphasis of this international research was "to elucidate the effects of the compounds responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis in man, to quantify the constituents or their metabolites in biological fluids, to determine their toxicity and side effects and to correlate these data with the social effects of the drug."
Respecting the large number of new and unpublished data surrounding the positive findings from researching cannabis:
The Symposium revealed that a large amount of knowledge had been accumulated on the chemistry of cannabis and the synthesis of the cannabinoids and their metabolites. The report stated that there still remains some uncertainty as to how much THC is absorbed by smoking, to give the biological high. It concluded that THC and cannabis of known potency can be used with confidence in large scale clinical trials. It was determined that within the next few years (by 1975 ?), the clinical data will shed new light on the two basic questions of the UN "How dangerous is cannabis?" and "What should we do about it?"
In summary, this is evidence that the United Nations vilified cannabis without any corroborating scientific evidence as to its dangers!
How can a plant go from a useful industrial and medicinal benefit to society, to a fate of condemnation needing international control under the suspicious auspices of protecting our health?
Cannabis research at the Division of Narcotic Drugs, United Nations, Geneva is mandated with the primary function of internationally coordinating cannabis research in order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort.
The emphasis of this international research was "to elucidate the effects of the compounds responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis in man, to quantify the constituents or their metabolites in biological fluids, to determine their toxicity and side effects and to correlate these data with the social effects of the drug."
Respecting the large number of new and unpublished data surrounding the positive findings from researching cannabis:
The Symposium revealed that a large amount of knowledge had been accumulated on the chemistry of cannabis and the synthesis of the cannabinoids and their metabolites. The report stated that there still remains some uncertainty as to how much THC is absorbed by smoking, to give the biological high. It concluded that THC and cannabis of known potency can be used with confidence in large scale clinical trials. It was determined that within the next few years (by 1975 ?), the clinical data will shed new light on the two basic questions of the UN "How dangerous is cannabis?" and "What should we do about it?"
In summary, this is evidence that the United Nations vilified cannabis without any corroborating scientific evidence as to its dangers!
How can a plant go from a useful industrial and medicinal benefit to society, to a fate of condemnation needing international control under the suspicious auspices of protecting our health?