Today I would like Start this column with a bet. I imagine that most readers have not even heard these days of a position on the legalization of cannabis, expressed by a major advisory body of the United Nations. And I would also bet that, if the agency’s conclusions had been the opposite, the news would have occupied the headlines.But of this, of course, I cannot have the counter-proof.
The statement dates back to March 9, the day on which the report of the International Narcotics Board for 2022 was presented in Vienna: the analysis of data on global drug use raises the alarm on a peak in cocaine production, available at low prices even at high levels of purity, with 6 laboratories for the processing of this substance, of the 15 discovered globally, identified in Europe; dwells on the epidemic of opioid abuse, which unfortunately shows no sign of returning to the United States, and points out that the abuse of fentanyl and similar substances is also beginning to affect Oceania; Conversely, the document points out, many countries fail to obtain the necessary doses for medical use of opioids and other molecules that fall on the prohibited lists; Finally, experts warn the authorities about the speed with which traffickers can replace chemical precursors of substances of abuse with others not yet included in the lists of substances subject to particular controls.
But the most surprising news, the one reported at the beginning of the press release issued by the United Nations, is the apparent failure of the legalization policies of cannabis for recreational purposes in the countries where these initiatives have been introduced.This at least is the title with which the document is presented on the UN website and in the press release.
The summary of the first chapter of the report shows that, in US states where cannabis is legal, adolescents and young adults consume it more than in those where it is still prohibited. Ease of access would lower the perception of risks and negative consequences related to its use. The introduction of food products or to be taken by vaporization would contribute to a “normalization”, not to say to a “trivialization” of consumption, which a wise marketing strategy addresses especially to the youngest, unfortunately precisely those who can suffer the greatest damage, not only in the long run, but also immediately, in terms of school results and interpersonal relationships.
According to the report, “in all jurisdictions where cannabis has been legalized, data shows that health problems related to this substance have increased.Between 2000 and 2018, hospitalizations associated with cannabis addiction and withdrawal increased globally by 8-fold, and those for cannabis-related psychotic disorders would quadruple.”
However, these worldwide figures do not distinguish between where cannabis has become and where it is not, and only reflect the increase in general consumption over the decade considered. More indicative is the Colorado figure, where recreational use of cannabis has been authorized for those over 21 since the end of 2012. Here, the report reports, between 2013 and 2020 the fatal road accidents related to the substance would have doubled.
The report goes on, after underlining the damage of legalization, also denying the benefits that governments proposed by adopting it, first of all the fight against illegal trafficking, with all that this entails, from the poor security of the material and the unpredictability of its power, to the financing it provides to criminal organizations such as mafias.
According to the chairman of the Board, the data would suggest that illegal drug dealing, although decreasing, continues to flourish undisturbed even where the alternative state is present: in Canada it would represent 40% of the market, in Uruguay almost 50%, in California even 75%.And even the higher tax revenues hoped for with the legal sale of cannabis, while increasing year on year in Canada and the United States, would still fall short of expectations.
You may have noticed that I continue to use the conditional, even where the press release uses the indicative, because in reality in the full text, unlike in its summary, all these conclusions are reported together with the result of often contradictory studies. What emerges is the picture of a situation that is still unclear.
To cloud the possibility of objective evaluations there would also be the whirlwind growth of the market that revolves around cannabis, with an industry that only in the United States generated a turnover of 25 billion dollars in 2021, with an increase of 43% compared to the previous year. According to the report, the economic lobby that supports this new emerging sector would therefore exert strong pressure on lawmakers around the world to obtain less stringent rules.How to exclude it?
The effects of legalisation, on the other hand, may differ from one country to another, depending on different elements which do not allow the results obtained in a specific context to be applied automatically elsewhere. For many realities, then, legalization is too recent to be able to draw conclusions that can only be drawn after 15 or 20 years, especially since the result indicators considered by the different governments change and are not always reliable.
For this reason, the International Narcotics Board believes in essence that the effects of legalization on an individual and social level should be curbed and deepened before proceeding with legalization.
I imagine that many readers disagree, as do most of the 600,000 citizens who at the end of 2021 voted, in person and online, to have a referendum on this topic.
Personally, I do not want to go into the merits, because I still have many doubts.Too many factors come into play (medical, psychological, educational, social, safety, etc.), not to mention the continuous ambiguity with which this debate overlaps with that on the medical use of the substance. But, in order to form an opinion, the first step always requires starting at least from clear objective data. These data can also be conflicting, if the theme as in this case is complex, the variables at stake many, the research in progress. But they must be communicated, whatever sign they are.
As I said, the way in which the UN Board in charge of drafting this report decided to communicate its conclusions to the press is much more categorical against legalization than it appears if you read the full content of the report itself. Conversely, too often politicians or opinion-makers in favor of legalization speak in search of consensus as if the positive effects of this policy, for example the fight against mafias, were taken for granted.
The authority of a committee of experts of the United Nations is not absolute, but neither is it negligible.It deserved, in my opinion, at least to be reported by the general press. I do it here, to remember that on many topics that create strong polarization, in talk shows as at the table with friends, it is prudent to proceed with moderation, collecting data, examining them honestly, whatever our starting position.
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Source – https://www.univadis.it/viewarticle/si-dice-villa-legalizzazione-della-cannabis-l-oms-non-%25C3%25A8-2023a10005lr