Medical cannabis, end of lockdown, out of schedule: A look back at the recent change in international scheduling

On December 2, 2020, the United Nations voted for the withdrawal of “cannabis” and “cannabis resin” from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, 1961. Complex and controversial, the vote, and the World Health Organization’s recommendation that motivated it, are analyzed and discussed. After reviewing and updating the legal context and history of the international scheduling of cannabis and its derived medicines, the article addresses the impact, broad but often misunderstood, of the change in the international scheduling status of cannabis products, and the consequences it may have for patients, healthcare professionals, states, but also for the United Nations system and for international law more broadly.