ENCOD
  • Donate
  • Covid-19 messages
  • News
  • Organisation
    • About us
    • Our Team
      • WORKING GROUPS
      • STUDIES
      • GENERAL ASSEMBLIES
      • FINANCES
    • Our Mission
    • FAQ
    • IN THE PRESS
    • ANNUAL REPORTS
    • ENCOD MEMBERS
    • INFO FOR MEMBERS
  • Join us
  • Actions & Events
    • CAMPAIGNS
      • FREEDOM TO FARM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM IS THE FIRST TEST OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM AND CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS FOR PEOPLE WHO USE CANNABIS AS A MEDICINE
        • FREEDOM TO FARM POSTERS
        • FREEDOM TO FARM STICKERS
      • Cannabis Social Clubs
        • HOW TO CREATE A CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB
        • EXAMPLES OF CSC’S IN EUROPE
        • Cannabis Social Clubs in Aktion
        • PROPOSAL TO REGULATE THE SELF CULTIVATION AND CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS IN BELGIUM
        • Catalonia regulates the Cannabis Social Clubs
        • WORKSHOP ‘HOW TO SET UP A CSC IN GERMANY’
      • 2017
      • 2014
      • 2010 – 2013
      • 2009
      • 2008
      • 2007
      • 2006
      • 1995 – 2005
      • EU LOBBY CAMPAIGN
        • 2011
        • 2010
        • 2009
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
        • 2005
        • 2004
    • ACTION APPEALS
  • Bulletins
  • Video Archive
  • Donate
  • Covid-19 messages
  • News
  • Organisation
    • About us
    • Our Team
      • WORKING GROUPS
      • STUDIES
      • GENERAL ASSEMBLIES
      • FINANCES
    • Our Mission
    • FAQ
    • IN THE PRESS
    • ANNUAL REPORTS
    • ENCOD MEMBERS
    • INFO FOR MEMBERS
  • Join us
  • Actions & Events
    • CAMPAIGNS
      • FREEDOM TO FARM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM IS THE FIRST TEST OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
        • FREEDOM TO FARM AND CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS FOR PEOPLE WHO USE CANNABIS AS A MEDICINE
        • FREEDOM TO FARM POSTERS
        • FREEDOM TO FARM STICKERS
      • Cannabis Social Clubs
        • HOW TO CREATE A CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUB
        • EXAMPLES OF CSC’S IN EUROPE
        • Cannabis Social Clubs in Aktion
        • PROPOSAL TO REGULATE THE SELF CULTIVATION AND CANNABIS SOCIAL CLUBS IN BELGIUM
        • Catalonia regulates the Cannabis Social Clubs
        • WORKSHOP ‘HOW TO SET UP A CSC IN GERMANY’
      • 2017
      • 2014
      • 2010 – 2013
      • 2009
      • 2008
      • 2007
      • 2006
      • 1995 – 2005
      • EU LOBBY CAMPAIGN
        • 2011
        • 2010
        • 2009
        • 2008
        • 2007
        • 2006
        • 2005
        • 2004
    • ACTION APPEALS
  • Bulletins
  • Video Archive
March 15, 2020  |  By Maja In Actions & Events, CND, News

Reflections on the 63rd CND in Vienna

IMG_20200304_111824-1

This years CND took place in the shadow of the Corona virus. Many delegates did not attend the meeting and certain decision making was postponed. Nonetheless, the whole Encod Executive Committee attended the event. Hereby, we want to give you a short overview of some of the discussions that took place throughout the week.

On the 3rd of March WHO organized an informal dialogue that was well attended by many of our colleagues. Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli opened the session with a proposal to the WHO to consider and give more weight to the traditional use of psychoactive substances in its guidelines and recommendations.

Concerning addiction the WHO pointed out the importance to consider a broader, bio-psycho-social model of addiction. However, it was indicated that there is currently no system in place that would monitor it in individual countries. A call was made to report any violations of human rights or misinterpretations of the standards directly to WHO program in Geneva for evaluation. The WHO is also eager to work together with the civil society in programs of prevention of substance use, irrelevant to the substance’s legal status. In general, the tendency of drug policy should be, according to the WHO, to prevent imprisonments, especially of people with mental health problems.

With regard to cannabis, the expert committee reviewed CBD and other cannabis substances and recommended that CBD products with less than 0,2 % of THC should not be controlled. The voting was scheduled to happen in the following days, however, it got postponed to December 2020. There have been 300+ questions about this issue and a lot of exchange between the different stakeholders. WHO stated that they are available for further dialogue, but many questions have already been answered. Their position is that CBD doesn’t cause dependence per se and it is not a psychoactive substance. There are medicines produced with only traces of THC in 40 countries, which are marketed in the US and EU for treatment of resistant epilepsy and there is enough scientific data supporting that. The WHO committee pointed out that it is not in their domain to consider industrial or food use, they are looking specifically into medical use only.

On the question, if it is necessary to launch global campaign on opioid overdose deaths, the response of WHO was that even though it is not an issue in each country in the world, it still is a significant threat and deserves a global response. Availability of Naloxone was pointed out as an important and necessary intervention. Opioids remain one of the main killers when it comes to drug use and there are insufficient programs to deal with this crisis. Substitution therapy was identified as the first treatment modality.

On the question, if WHO believes that cannabis causes greater harm than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol, the reply was somehow vague. The 41st expert committee said that cannabis can have harms and it, therefore, recommends that cannabis is scheduled. According to the WHO cannabis caused thousands of traffic accident related deaths, it is definitely addicting and some illnesses have been identified as being caused by cannabis such as certain types of prostate cancer.

Particularly, the last statement on cannabis causing thousands of deaths was taken with reservation (at least by a part) of the audience. We still have a long way to go in the fight for just and effective drug policy. It is time that the civil society, including the harm reduction community, have a say about the upcoming regulation of the European cannabis market. If not, we miss an important historical opportunity to shape our future. A good example of collaboration between decision makers and the civil society was caught on tape by Drug reporter. For more information check out the video below.

Cannabis was a reoccurring topic and well attended at the side-events of the CND. We had the opportunity to listen to presentations discussing the value of cannabis in medicine as well as Cannabis social clubs, as an efficient and viable self-regulation practice, were presented.

 

 

 

 

 

Encod and the Nonviolent Radical Party co-organized a side-event on Friday morning on heroin and ibogaine-assisted treatments in the era of the opiods crisis. Professor Carla Rossi and Christopher Hallam were talking about heroin-assisted therapy as an effective harm reduction treatment. Maja Kohek was presenting the work and studies done in ICEERS on iboga(ine) as a treatment for substance dependence.

The “Empowering women” side-event was canceled. However, a spontaneous meeting took place after all attended by representatives of SSDP and Encod as well as other participants from South Africa, Canada, Bolivia, Austria, Myanmar, the Netherlands and USA.

Thursday evening we attended a panel discussion on “Psychedelic Science – A Paradigm Shift?” at the Medical University of Vienna organized by the Center for Addiction Research & Science and SSDP Vienna where four women were talking about the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in the field of psychedelic science, mental health and drug policy reform.

We invite our Spanish speaking members to check out the comment on the CND for the Marihuana Television made by Ana Afuera.

Stay healthy!

Previous StoryThe prohibition of carrots
Next StoryCOVID-19: Advice for People Who Use Drugs

Related Articles

  • LOGO centenary of Cannabis Prohibition 1925-2025
    CND68 - ENCOD side event "1925-2025 : One centenary of Cannabis as a narcotic drug under international control"
  • Earth Garden Report ENCOD Website Karen Mamo Pic 01a
    ENCOD at Earth Garden Festival Malta 2022

Categories

Archives

  • About us
  • Downloads
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal Notice & Terms of Use
  • Imprint

Copyright ©2018 ThemeFuse. All Rights Reserved

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

REPUBLISHING TERMS

You may republish this article online or in print under our Creative Commons license. You may not edit or shorten the text, you must attribute the article to ENCOD and you must include the author’s name in your republication.

If you have any questions, please email thujer@gmail.com

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Reflections on the 63rd CND in Vienna