Home > Morocco > Morocco Votes to Reclassify Cannabis at UN Drug Commission
Morocco Votes to Reclassify Cannabis at UN Drug Commission
Saturday 5 December 2020, by
Morocco is the only country in the MENA region to have voted for the removal of cannabis from the list of hard drugs during its 63rd session of the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) held on Wednesday, December 2 in Vienna.
Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Libya and Turkey voted against the removal of cannabis from the list of hard drugs. In addition to Morocco, Chile also chose the same option. According to the United Nations, this country considers that "there is a direct relationship between cannabis use and an increased risk of suffering from depression, cognitive deficit, anxiety, psychotic symptoms, among others".
It was by 27 votes in favor, 25 against and 1 abstention that the 53 member states of the CND adopted the reclassification of cannabis out of the category of the most dangerous drugs. With this vote, another step has been taken towards the legalization of cannabis for medical, or even recreational, purposes.
More than 50 countries have so far adopted programs related to medical cannabis. Countries like Canada, Uruguay and 15 U.S. states have legalized its recreational use. Mexico and Luxembourg, for their part, are preparing to do so.