Enlarge / COLORADO SPRINGS, CO. – August 05, 2014: Janea Cox director of the Flowering H.O.P.E. Foundation, with her daughter Haleigh’s, who was diagnosed with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, looks at the plants that make Haleigh’s Hope, a cannabis oil high in cannabidiol, or CBD, that is helping control her seizures. (credit: Getty | Joe Amon)
The US Drug Enforcement Administration has long held that the non-psychoactive component of marijuana, cannabidiol, is a schedule I drug. That is, a drug that has no accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse. But according to a preliminary report embraced by the World Health Organization this week, the DEA’s long held stance is tripping.
In a preliminary report last month, the WHO’s Expert Committee on Drug Dependence concluded—and WHO agreed—that clinical and pre-clinical studies of CBD show no evidence of a potential for users to abuse the drug or suffer any harms. Moreover, the experts found plenty of inklings that CBD has medical benefits, particularly for treating epilepsy. In its conclusion, the ECDD declared that the current data “does not justify scheduling of cannabidiol.”
The ECDD’s report is just a first glance, however. The committee, which is generally tasked with assessing which drugs should be internationally controlled (scheduled) and how, will take a more extensive look in May of 2018. Then, it will review cannabis overall, as well as other cannabis compounds.
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