INCB Cannabis Control Initiative: independent monitoring website

An independent, public-interest webpage to monitor and document the work of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) Cannabis Control Initiative.

As of March 2022, INCB seems to have reduced substantially the scope of its “Guidelines” by focusing on “reporting and monitoring standards […] limited to the specific areas of the international drug control treaties related to reporting and monitoring of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes.” 

INCB Monitor logo | Monitoring the INCB cannabis control initiative

V.4 [28 May 2022]

About the INCB

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) is a treaty body in charge of monitoring and oversight of the 3 drug control Conventions of 1961, 1971 & 1988

INCB defines itself as “an independent and quasi-judicial control organ, established by treaty, for monitoring the implementation of the international drug control treaties. It had predecessors under the former drug control treaties as far back as the time of the League of Nations.” (source)

In practice 13 Board Members are independent and volunteer, while INCB staff and secretariat is integral part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Click on the box below to unfold more information.

More about the INCB (presentation provided by the Board)

Composition

INCB consists of 13 members who are elected by the Economic and Social Council and who serve in their personal capacity, not as government representatives. Three members with medical, pharmacological or pharmaceutical experience are elected from a list of persons nominated by WHO and 10 members are elected from a list of persons nominated by Governments. Members of the Board are persons who, by their competence, impartiality and disinterestedness, command general confidence. The Council, in consultation with INCB, makes all arrangements necessary to ensure the full technical independence of the Board in carrying out its functions. INCB has a secretariat that assists it in the exercise of its treatyrelated functions. The INCB secretariat is an administrative entity of UNODC, but it reports solely to the Board on matters of substance. INCB closely collaborates with UNODC in the framework of arrangements approved by the Council in its resolution 1991/48. INCB also cooperates with other international bodies concerned with drug control, including not only the Council and its Commission on Narcotic Drugs, but also the relevant specialized agencies of the United Nations, particularly WHO. It also cooperates with bodies outside the United Nations system, especially INTERPOL and WCO.

Functions

The functions of INCB are laid down in the following treaties: Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961 as amended by the 1972 Protocol; Convention on Psychotropic Substances of 1971; and United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances of 1988. Broadly speaking, INCB deals with the following:

(a) As regards the licit manufacture of, trade in and use of drugs, INCB endeavours, in cooperation with Governments, to ensure that adequate supplies of drugs are available for medical and scientific uses and that the diversion of drugs from licit sources to illicit channels does not occur. INCB also monitors Governments’ control over chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs and assists them in preventing the diversion of those chemicals into the illicit traffic;

(b) As regards the illicit manufacture of, trafficking in and use of drugs, INCB identifies weaknesses in national and international control systems and contributes to correcting such situations. INCB is also responsible for assessing chemicals used in the illicit manufacture of drugs, in order to determine whether they should be placed under international control.

In the discharge of its responsibilities, INCB:

(a) Administers a system of estimates for narcotic drugs and a voluntary assessment system for psychotropic substances and monitors licit activities involving drugs through a statistical returns system, with a view to assisting Governments in achieving, inter alia, a balance between supply and demand;

(b) Monitors and promotes measures taken by Governments to prevent the diversion of substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances and assesses such substances to determine whether there is a need for changes in the scope of control of Tables I and II of the 1988 Convention;

(c) Analyses information provided by Governments, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies or other competent international organizations, with a view to ensuring that the provisions of the international drug control treaties are adequately carried out by Governments, and recommends remedial measures;

(d) Maintains a permanent dialogue with Governments to assist them in complying with their obligations under the international drug control treaties and, to that end, recommends, where appropriate, technical or financial assistance to be provided.

INCB is called upon to ask for explanations in the event of apparent violations of the treaties, to propose appropriate remedial measures to Governments that are not fully applying the provisions of the treaties or are encountering difficulties in applying them and, where necessary, to assist Governments in overcoming such difficulties. If, however, INCB notes that the measures necessary to remedy a serious situation have not been taken, it may call the matter to the attention of the parties concerned, the Commission on Narcotic Drugs and the Economic and Social Council. As a last resort, the treaties empower INCB to recommend to parties that they stop importing drugs from a defaulting country, exporting drugs to it or both. In all cases, INCB acts in close cooperation with Governments.

INCB assists national administrations in meeting their obligations under the conventions. To that end, it proposes and participates in regional training seminars and programmes for drug control administrators.

Reports

The international drug control treaties require INCB to prepare an annual report on its work. The annual report contains an analysis of the drug control situation worldwide so that Governments are kept aware of existing and potential situations that may endanger the objectives of the international drug control treaties. INCB draws the attention of Governments to gaps and weaknesses in national control and in treaty compliance; it also makes suggestions and recommendations for improvements at both the national and the international levels.

The annual report is based on information provided by Governments to INCB, United Nations entities and other organizations. It also uses information provided through other international organizations, such as INTERPOL and WCO, as well as regional organizations. The annual report of INCB is supplemented by detailed technical reports. They contain data on the licit movement of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances required for medical and scientific purposes, together with an analysis of those data by INCB. Those data are required for the proper functioning of the system of control over the licit movement of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, including preventing their diversion to illicit channels. Moreover, under the provisions of article 12 of the 1988 Convention, INCB reports annually to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs on the implementation of that article. That report, which gives an account of the results of the monitoring of precursors and of the chemicals frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, is also published as a supplement to the annual report.

Since 1992, the first chapter of the annual report has been devoted to a specific drug control issue on which INCB presents its conclusions and recommendations in order to contribute to policy-related discussions and decisions in national, regional and international drug control. (All annual reports)

More about the INCB (Analysis from Civil Society & researchers)

Governing the Global Drug Wars - LSE report

“In recent decades the United Nations has opened its procedures significantly to civil society participation. Virtually all major United Nations events and summits accommodate NGO forums of various kinds, and many invite NGO participation in the form of speaking slots to accredited delegates, permission to distribute publications, and space for NGO networking. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) includes civil society representatives on its governing body, though not as voting members. Even the UN Security Council, historically one of the UN’s most secretive bodies, has opened up its proceedings. There is an officially established NGO Working Group that relates to the Security Council and is involved in regular meetings and briefings often through the vehicle of the rotating Council president. […] In spite of such observations, the INCB remains perhaps the most closed and least transparent of any entity supported by the United Nations. There are no minutes or public reports on the deliberations of the INCB. The INCB’s proceedings are closed not only to NGOs but also to member states. The country visits – on which it bases its annual reports – generally do not include meetings with civil society organisations, people who use drugs, or others affected by drug control measures. In recent years, the INCB president has met with NGOs in one session at the annual meeting of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs. When questioned about the closed nature of the Board at these sessions, INCB officials have repeatedly cited security concerns and the need for confidentiality associated with sensitive drug control measures. Can it be impossible, however, for the INCB to engage with civil society if the Security Council can do so with the delicate and potentially explosive issues that it considers?”

Csete, J. (2012). “Overhauling Oversight: Human Rights at the INCB” (pp.63–68) in: Governing the Global Drug Wars; Special Report SR014. London: London School of Economics.

 


 

Barrett, D. (2008). ‘Unique in International Relations’? A Comparison of the International Narcotics Control Board and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies. London: International Harm Reduction Association.The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB or the Board) plays an important role in the international drug control system, serving as an independent body monitoring states’ implementation of their obligations under the international drug conventions. It has, however, been criticised for being one of the most secretive bodies in the UN system. It holds its meetings behind closed doors. No minutes are published. There is no opportunity for nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) or civil society organisations to observe or make submissions.

The INCB has claimed that it is ‘unique in international relations’, and has used this allegedly unique status to justify its exclusion of civil society from its deliberations and its closed meetings. However, far from being unique, the INCB is instead an early example of the ‘independent committee of experts’ model that has been adopted and developed within the UN human rights system, and regional human rights systems, over the past four decades. It is a common model that continues to be used today. Yet in contrast to these similar bodies, the INCB has failed to modernise its processes, and retains working practices inherited from defunct monitoring bodies.

[Barrett’s] report compares the INCB’s structure, mandate, legal status, activities and working methods with those of the UN human rights treaty bodies. While the INCB does differ in certain ways from these independent, quasi-judicial bodies in the UN human rights system, this is an inevitable result of differences between the aims and objectives of the drug and human rights conventions that the various committees are mandated to oversee. These differences are procedural rather than structural or legal, and are far outweighed by the similarities. The basic model, far from being unique to the INCB, is in fact identical.

The INCB’s ‘uniqueness’ stems not from its mandate, its activities or its legal status, but instead from the working methods the Board has adopted, methods that are out of step with those of similarly constituted UN bodies which have chosen to operate via open and inclusive processes.

The Board’s claim of unique status is untrue, as is its contention that civil society must, by mandate or other official barrier, be excluded from its deliberations. The key issue is one of choice, rather than mandate or legal barrier. The INCB has chosen secrecy, while the human rights treaty bodies have chosen open engagement. The INCB’s choice is becoming an increasing worry for the international community. Rather than working behind closed doors, the INCB should instead learn from the methods used by the human rights treaty bodies to develop a dialogue with civil society. It can adapt those methods and apply them to its own work to ensure a more open and informed monitoring system for the international drug conventions. Opening up the INCB’s activities in this way would bring its work into conformity with that of other similarly constituted UN bodies.

[Barrett’s] report aims to highlight those aspects of the Board’s working methods that must be addressed to achieve the inclusion of civil society as partners in the international drug control system, to ensure that the Board’s mandate is fully understood and fulfilled and to allow the INCB to remain relevant in international affairs. Such an outcome requires a change of attitude by the INCB and a decision on its part to alter working practices. However, action at many levels of the UN may be needed to ensure that such a transformation occurs.”

Barrett, D. (2008). ‘Unique in International Relations’? A Comparison of the International Narcotics Control Board and the UN Human Rights Treaty Bodies. London: International Harm Reduction Association.

 


 

INCB Watch.

Similar to this website, but on broader issues related to the mandate of the Board, the International Drug Policy Consortium (IDPC) has been publishing critical information related to the work of the INCB, and “Promoting the transparency and accountability of the International Narcotics Control Board” > Visit: idpc.net/incb-watch

 
INCB Monitor | Monitoring the INCB cannabis control initiative | world map

About the INCB Cannabis Initiative

“INCB Initiative on the Control and Monitoring Requirements of Cannabis and Cannabis-related Substances (INCB Cannabis Control Initiative)”

The INCB Cannabis Control Initiative “is being developed with the financial support of the Government of Japan. The Initiative supports Member States with the harmonization of their monitoring, control and reporting practices to ensure availability of cannabis-based substances for medical and scientific purposes while preventing their diversion and abuse” (source). INCB launched 2 projects as part of the Initiative:

  • Issuing International Guidelines on the control requirements for cannabis (see below), later scaled-down to Guidelines on the “reporting and monitoring standards” with regards to medical cannabis.
  • Assisting Member States in setting up their medical cannabis control regulations.

 

About the “Guidelines”

[Initially] Guidelines on the International Drug Control Requirements for the Cultivation, Manufacture and Utilization of Cannabis for Medical and Scientific Purposes. [Nowadays] Reporting and monitoring standards of cannabis and cannabis-related substances for medical and scientific purposes.

Under the INCB Cannabis Control Initiative, INCB started developing Guidelines as “a key part of INCB’s efforts to support Member States in better understanding and complying with their control and reporting obligations related to cannabis and cannabis-related substances” as set out in the 1961 Single Convention and the 1971 Convention. According to INCB, efforts under the Initiative would “strengthen compliance with the international drug conventions, facilitating access to cannabis for medical and scientific purposes while preventing the risk of diversion into the illicit market.” (source). The Guidelines will not be legally-binding. The first drafts contained extremely concerned elements in terms of human rights, social justice, and protection of the environment and biodiversity.

As of March 2022, however, the INCB seems to have reduced substantially the scope of its “Guidelines” by focusing on an attempt of “consensus between Member States” with relation to the “reporting and monitoring standards of cannabis and cannabis-related substances for medical and scientific purposes” specifying that the standards would be “limited to the specific areas of the international drug control treaties related to reporting and monitoring of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes.” 

March 2022 | Answers of FAAAT to the questionnaire of INCB for Civil Society Organizations

Between 22 February and 22 March 2022, the INCB requested inputs from NGOs via a questionnaire (see timeline above). Answers of the NGO FAAAT think & do tank.

Dec. 2021 | Contribution to INCB on Transparency + open letter to UN Secretary-General

On the 1st anniversary of the historic UN cannabis vote, 181 NGOs from 56 Countries call upon the INCB to create transparency and accountability in ‘Cannabis Guidelines’ effort.

List of the 181 NGOs endorsing the statements

International organizations:

  1. Concile mondial de congrès diplomatiques des aumôniers pour la paix universelle des droits humains et juridiques (International)
  2. Drug Science (International)
  3. ENCOD vzw (International)
  4. Ethiopia Africa Black International Congress Church of Salvation (International)
  5. European Industrial Hemp Association (International)
  6. FAAAT think & do tank (International)
  7. ICEERS Foundation (International)
  8. International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines, IACM (International)
  9. International Drug Policy Consortium, IDPC (International)
  10. Law Enforcement Action Partnership, LEAP (International)
  11. Society of Cannabis Clinicians (International)
  12. Students for Sensible Drug Policy, SSDP (International)
  13. Transform Drug Policy Foundation (International)
  14. Transnational Institute, TNI (International)
  15. Youth RISE (International)

National organizations:

  1. ACEID (Costa Rica)
  2. Addiction Research Center – Alternative Georgia (Georgia)
  3. Afristar Foundation (South Africa)
  4. AGRRR, Association guyanaise de réduction des risques (French Guiana)
  5. Agrupación de cultivadores de cannabis del Uruguay, ACCA (Uruguay)
  6. akzept e.V. Bundesverband für akzeptierenden Drogenarbeit und humane Drogenpoliik (Germany)
  7. Americans for Safe Access (USA)
  8. Arbeitsgemeinschaft Cannabis als Medizin, ACM (Germany)
  9. ARGE CANNA e.V. (Austria & Germany)
  10. Asociación Civil Acción Cannabica (Argentina)
  11. Asociación Civil Ciencia Sativa (Argentina)
  12. Asociación de Cannabis Medicinal, ACMED (Argentina)
  13. Asociación Gallega del Cáñamo (Spain)
  14. Asociación Mexicana de Medicina Cannabinoide, AC (Mexico)
  15. Association des Chanvriers de Nouvelle Calédonie (New Caledonia)
  16. Association of Patient Advocates (USA)
  17. Association Principes Actifs (France)
  18. Associazione Luca Coscioni (Italy)
  19. ASUD, Auto-support et Réduction des risques parmi les usagers de drogues (France)
  20. Berkeley Patients Group (USA)
  21. Beyond Green (UK)
  22. Big Sur Farmers Association (USA)
  23. California NORML (USA)
  24. Canapa Caffè associazione culturale (Italy)
  25. Cannabis Consumers Coalition (USA)
  26. Cannabis Social Club Bolzano/Bozen (Italy)
  27. Cannabis de Esperanza / Cannabis gotas de esperanza (Peru)
  28. Cannabis Development Council South Africa (South Africa)
  29. Cannabis For Children International (USA)
  30. Cannabis Industry Council (UK)
  31. Cannabis sans frontières (France)
  32. Cannabis Trade Association, CTA (UK)
  33. Cannagenethics Foundation (Netherlands)
  34. Cannamedica Luxembourg ASBL (Luxemburg)
  35. Cannasense Campaign (USA)
  36. Cáñamo Industrial Ecuador (Ecuador)
  37. Cañuelas Cultiva (Argentina)
  38. CAPA Cannabis Patientenverein e.V (Germany)
  39. Caribbean Collective for Justice (Trinidad and Tobago)
  40. Catalan Network of People who Use Drugs, CATNPUD (Spain)
  41. Centro de Convivência É de Lei (Brazil)
  42. Centro de Estudios del Cannabis de Perú (Peru)
  43. COLEC (Tunisia)
  44. Collectif d’Information et de Recherche Cannabique, CIRC (France)
  45. Collectif Urgence Toxida (Mauritius)
  46. Comitato pazienti cannabis medica (Italy)
  47. Comitato Referendum Cannabis Legale (Italy)
  48. Confederación de federaciones y asociaciones cannábicas, ConFAC (Spain)
  49. Conseil des Organisations de Lutte Contre l’Abus de Drogues, CONAD-CI (Côte d’Ivoire)
  50. Corporación Acción Tècnica Social, ATS (Colombia)
  51. Corporación Sapiencia (Colombia)
  52. Corporación Viso Mutop (Colombia)
  53. Corporación Ciudadanía y Justicia (Chile)
  54. Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (USA)
  55. Cultivadores Cannabicos (Argentina)
  56. Cultivemos Argentina (Argentina)
  57. CzecHemp (Czech republic)
  58. Decriminalize Nature Tucson (USA)
  59. Decriminalize VA (USA)
  60. DRCNet Foundation / StoptheDrugWar.org (USA)
  61. Drugs Peace Institute (Netherlands)
  62. Drug Policy Australia limited (Australia)
  63. Drug Policy Network South East Europe (Serbia)
  64. Elementa DDHH (Colombia & Mexico)
  65. Elternkreis Wien (Austria)
  66. Ethio-Africa Diaspora Union Millennium Council (Jamaica)
  67. EUmans (Italy)
  68. Fedito Bxl (Belgium)
  69. Fields of Green for ALL, NPC (South Africa)
  70. Finnish Cannabis Association / Suomen kannabisyhdistys ry (Finland)
  71. Forum Droghe (Italy)
  72. Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (USA)
  73. Freedom Grow Forever (USA)
  74. Front de Libération du Cannabis (Tunisia)
  75. Fundación Ciencias para la Cannabis (Chile)
  76. Fundación Latinoamérica Reforma (Chile)
  77. Fundación Renovatio (Spain)
  78. Ganja Growers and Producers Association (Jamaica)
  79. Gli amici di nonna canapa (Italy) 
  80. Global Eye (Netherlands)
  81. Green World for medical and legal informing (Croatia)
  82. Green Zone (Japan) 
  83. Grupo de Mujeres de la Argentina Foro de VIH Mujeres y Familia (Argentina)
  84. Hanf Als Nutzpflanze Fördern, H.A.N.F. e.V. (Germany)
  85. Hanf Institut (Austria)
  86. Hanfparade, Jakis e.V. (Germany)
  87. Harm Reduction Australia (Australia)
  88. Himalayan Hemp Society (India)
  89. HOPS – Healthy Options Project Skopje (North Macedonia)
  90. Hungarian Medical Cannabis Association (Hungary)
  91. Institut Polynésien du Cannabis (French Polynesia)
  92. Instituto RIA, AC (México)
  93. Intercambios Asociación Civil (Argentina)
  94. Intercambios Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico)
  95. Jamaica Licensed Cannabis Association (Jamaica)
  96. KOPAC, Patients association for cannabis treatment (Czech republic)
  97. Korea Medical Cannabis Organization (Republic of Korea)
  98. Kyarki Foundation Trust (India)
  99. Latvian Hemp Union (Latvia)
  100. Law Enforcement Action Partnership Europe, LEAP Europe (France)
  101. Le Club Confluence (France)
  102. Legalizace.cz (Czech Republic)
  103. Louisiana Veterans for Medical Cannabis (USA)
  104. Malaysia Hemptech Industrial Research Association, MHIRA (Malaysia)
  105. MAMAKA, Mothers for Cannabis (Greece)
  106. Mambo Social Club (Belgium)
  107. Marijuana Policy Project (USA)
  108. MAST Human (Thailand)
  109. Medical Cannabis Awareness NZ, Inc. (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  110. Medical Cannabis Party (Philippines)
  111. Meglio Legale (Italy)
  112. México Unido Contra la Delincuencia, MUCD (Mexico)
  113. Moms Stop The Harm (USA)
  114. Mongolian Hemp Association (Mongolia)
  115. Multi-Dimensional Cannabis Research Centre, Kathmandu University (Nepal)
  116. Cannabis and Hemp Association of Namibia (Namibia)
  117. New Zealand Medicinal Cannabis Council (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  118. NORML France (France)
  119. NORML New Zealand, Inc. (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  120. NZ Drug Foundation (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  121. NZ Hemp Industries Association Inc. (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  122. Oaksterdam University (USA)
  123. Observatorio Europeo del Consumo y Cultivo de Cannabis, OECCC (Spain)
  124. Out of the Closet Cannabis Club (Canada)
  125. Patient-Led Engagement for Access CIC (UK)
  126. Patienten Groep Medicinaal Cannabis Gebruikers, PGMCG (Netherlands)
  127. Patients of Cannabinoid Therapy (Japan)
  128. Patients Out of Time (USA)
  129. Peace Movement (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  130. People Against Prisons Aotearoa (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  131. Philippine Cannabis Legal Resource Center (Philippines)
  132. Proyecto Cáñamo (Argentina)
  133. Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (Australia)
  134. Red de especialistas en Endocannabinología y cannabis Medicinal (Ecuador)
  135. ReLeaf Malta (Malta)
  136. Release (UK)
  137. RESET – Política de Drogas y Derechos Humanos (Argentina)
  138. Rights Reporter Foundation (Hungary)
  139. RUCAM, Red de Usuarios de Cannabis Medicinal (Uruguay)
  140. Rumah Cemara (Indonesia)
  141. Schildower Kreis e.V. (Germany)
  142. Science for Democracy (Italy)
  143. Selbsthilfenetzwerk Cannabis als Medizin, SCM (Germany)
  144. Sensible Philippines (Philippines)
  145. Social Drug Policy Initiative (Poland)
  146. Società della Ragione (Italy)
  147. Sociedad Clínica de Endocannabinología, SCE (Spain)
  148. Sociedade Brasileira de Estudos da Cannabis sativa, SBEC (Brazil)
  149. Substance Use and Policy Analysis (Aotearoa/New Zealand)
  150. Syndicat Polynésien du Chanvre (French Polynesia)
  151. Tahiti Herb Culture (French Polynesia)
  152. Tolweed club cannabico (Argentina)
  153. The Cannabis Trades Association, CTA (UK)
  154. Together for Responsible Use and Cannabis Education, TRUCE (USA)
  155. Treatment Action Group, TAG (USA)
  156. Unión de Pacientes por la Regulación del Cannabis, UPRC (Spain)
  157. UK Law Enforcement Action Partnership, LEAP (UK)
  158. Umzimvubu Farmers Support Network, NPC (South Africa)
  159. Veterans Ending The Stigma (USA)
  160. Veterans for Medical Cannabis Access (USA)
  161. Veterans Initiative 22 (USA)
  162. Virginians Against Drug Violence (USA)
  163. VOC, Verbond Opheffing Cannabisverbod, Union for the abolition of cannabis prohibition (Netherlands)
  164. Washington Office on Latin America, WOLA (USA)
  165. Why not hemp? / Prečo nie konope? n.f (Slovakia)

Zimbabwe Civil Liberties and Drug Network (Zimbabwe)

Feb. 2021 | 1st Voluntary contribution to INCB Cannabis Guidelines –due diligence, good faith, & technical concerns

The original drafts of INCB’s Cannabis Guidelines raised a series of questions and concerns. In this Contribution, we recommend that INCB should exercise due diligence –just like it has done with regards to death penalty and other human rights-related issues. The Board should also importantly take into account the specificity of this plant and its traditional, cultural, social, economic ties to millions of people that have knowledge, skills, and a continued burden of criminalization over their heads –they need to be acknowledged and included in the process. Finally, INCB must be fully open to inputs from key affected populations, civil society and academics, and not just government officials and the largest private sector companies.

Contribution to INCB Cannabis Guidelines

INCB Cannabis Initiative: a critical contribution by Civil Society

Human Rights

Human rights approach: “more than an added value”

Private activities

Inputs about medical cannabis in the context of home cultivation and self-medication

CBD: from stance to insistence

CBD is not a scheduled drug. But interpretations vary. INCB adopted the strictest interpretation

(Lack of) civil society participation

INCB consulted with governments and private sector companies. Not with NGOs and researchers.

Due diligence & Cannabis (1)

Due diligence towards the environment, ecosystems, and biological diversity

Due diligence & Cannabis (2)

Human rights due diligence in relation with indigenous peoples, peasants, and rural communities

Due diligence & Cannabis (3)

The amnesia of INCB on traditional & complementary medicines (T&CM)

Due diligence & Cannabis (4)

Human rights due diligence in the context of the freedom of religion and belief, in relation with the use of cannabis

INCB Cannabis Initiative & Sustainable Development

Beyond the INCB Cannabis Initiative: a toolkit for sustainable development

Read the Sustainable Cannabis Policy Toolkit (2021) in English, Spanish or Czech

English-speaking media

Coverage of the INCB cannabis control initiative, or “Cannabis Initiative” in English language press

 

NGOs call on INCB for transparency on cannabis initiative

Cannabis Wealth – Stephanie Price – 2 Dec. 2021

Press Release from faaat.net — Transparency at INCB & within its Cannabis Initiative

Fields of Green for ALL – Myrtle Clarke – 2 Dec. 2021

UN spokesperson responds to cannabis guidelines letter enquiry

Cannabis Wealth – Stephanie Price – 6 Dec. 2021

Spanish-speaking media

La iniciativa sobre fiscalización del cannabis, o “Iniciativa Cannabis” de la JIFE, en la prensa hispanohablante.

Italian media

La iniziativa per il controllo della cannabis dell’INCB, o “Iniziativa Cannabis”, sulla stampa di lingua italiana.

French-speaking media

L’initiative de contrôle du cannabis de l’OICS, ou “Initiative Cannabis”, dans les médias francophones.

Turkish media

Türk medyasında INCB’nin Esrar Kontrol Girişimi (veya “Esrar Girişimi”).