What does the WHO about
the use of CBD?

On 3 December 2020, the WHO surprisingly recognised the benefits of CBD and endorsed its medicinal use. After a surprise and close vote until the last second, one of the most consumed psychotropics at an international level, has been considered advantageous. Or at least, one of its active ingredients such as CBD.

The WHO ruled that CBD is not addictive, not harmful to health and has potential therapeutic properties.

At Bove Health, we have decided to echo this fact.

A good decision? All about the WHO decision on the benefits of CBD

"There is preliminary evidence that CBD may be a useful treatment for medical conditions [...] epilepsy, anxiety, inflammatory diseases, pain, nausea, etc...".

The WHO's Commission on Narcotic Drugs and most of the countries that comprise it have achieved a historic event. After a vote in which they obtained the maximum possible number of votes, they generated the endorsement to defer marijuana from their list of controls. As a result, a whole debate has been opened... Is it the right decision?

The final result of the vote

The use of cannabis as a medicine had been truncated by the refusal of many countries. However, after this event, of the 59 countries participating in the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, there were 27 votes in favour. Thanks to the abstention of other participants, they narrowly overcame the 25 votes against.

As a result, the perception of cannabis will begin to change from now on, with medical use being touted. Even so, there is still a lot of ground to be covered, so this is not the adjudication of the war.

A fact that has generated debate and mixed opinions since 2019.

Desde el año 2019, ya venía asomando la idea de la legalización del cannabis dentro de las filas de la OMS. Durante el transcurso de ese año, la OMS promulgó un comunicado con los 6 beneficios del CBD más comprobados en la actualidad.

On this basis, the idea of removing this active ingredient from the list of controls of the United Nations Organisation was launched. Obviously, behind this premise was the contribution of the aforementioned WHO Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Although several countries on the commission claimed that the use of CBD as a medicine was productive, there was still room for improvement. The other half of the members argued that it was too early to draw an accurate conclusion. The main reason was attributed to the fact that cannabis was still a controversial substance, with inconclusive studies.

However, the WHO's democratic decision has left a sea of mixed opinions. After the vote, representatives from Ecuador and the United States have argued that it is only the first step.

At the same time, they have made it clear that the benefits of CBD should only be used in the medical field. Although the vote was won, the favoured side has been very adamant about strict medicinal use. They have even demanded that the WHO set up a commission to issue guidelines for the proper long-term medicinal use of this active ingredient.

The background behind the feat

Now that the benefits of CBD are recognised, it is necessary to clarify the premise as such. CBD, or cannabidiol, is considered by the WHO as a non-psychotropic product for medicinal purposes. That is, it is the component or active ingredient that has been approved, not cannabis as such.

In short, the commercialisation of cannabis is still subject to the regulations of each country. What has been upheld is the recognition of CBD, a derivative of cannabis, as a medicinal component suitable for mankind.

Summary of diseases for which CBD may have therapeutic benefits taken from Pisanti et al (2017)