UNGASS Uncovered

April 19-21, in the Big Apple, world leaders and representatives from the 193 United Nations member states gathered together for a special summit called UNGASS to discuss important things that are very relevant to this industry. These things include such hot and trending topics like:

• The Future of Cannabis (Globally)
• The International War on Drugs
• Mass Corruption Because of the International War on Drugs
• Mass Incarceration Because of the International War on Drugs
• Whether or not to reform the world’s existing global drug policies (Whoa Nelly, that’s the big one right there, isn’t it?)

OK, So … What’s UNGASS?

UNGASS stands for the United Nations General Assembly Special Session; these sessions are held semi-frequently to collectively sort out the world’s major problems.

So quite ironically, the last UNGASS specifically held for the same particular macroeconomic problem (the International Drug War) was in 1998 and was called, “A Drug Free World … We Can Do It.” It was ironic in the fact that among the goals set at the session were the reduction, if not the outright eradication of cocaine, opium and cannabis production by 2008. Excuse me while I laugh out loud. I think that is what the kids these days call an epic fail.

This year’s UNGASS participants, however, realized that creating a drug-free world simply isn’t achievable.

The Tide Has Turned

In February, U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, who headed the UNGASS summit in 1998, wrote in an essay, “… we need to accept that a drug free world is an illusion. We must focus instead on ensuring that drugs cause the least possible harm.”

In March, more than 225 Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), including the American Civil Liberties Union and AIDS United, sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to push the U.N. to reform the outdated international drug conventions that have long shaped global narcotics laws.

Also in March, William Brownfield, a top U.S. drug official, signaled that the Obama Administration accepted other countries’ decriminalization efforts, as he reiterated to reporters one month later at UNGASS 2016, “We will call for a pragmatic and concrete criminal justice reform, areas such as alternatives to incarceration or drug courts, or sentencing reform.”

All three of the above heavily referenced the fact that four states and the District of Columbia have legalized adult-use marijuana.

One Quick Aside

This year’s UNGASS was pressured into existence far ahead of its intended 2019-2020 target date, by Mexico, Columbia and Guatemala, because, they state in a joint declaration from October 2012, “Revising the approach on drugs maintained so far by the international community can no longer be postponed.”

So April 19, UNGASS opened with current UNGASS President H.E. Mogens Lykketoft discussing the need to address cannabis and that “… access to drugs for medical use is a human right to protect.”

Access to drugs for medical use is a human right to protect." — UNGASS President H.E. Mogens Lykketoft during UNGASS opening remarks

Is everybody on board with reform? Nope, not really. Some countries still favor continued repressive drug policies. It is not a small coincidence that these are the same countries that have some of the worst human rights violations in the world.

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, China and Indonesia are all dead set against drug policy reform, with Saudi Arabia recently beheading two brothers for carrying hashish, and Russia incessantly hell-bent on demonizing cannabis while, of course, glorifying its No. 1 export: Vodka.

The Verdict

So here are some of the more memorable moments from this year’s UNGASS:

Canada reaffirmed its commitment to legalizing and regulating cannabis by spring 2017. Go Canada!

Note to self: Do not travel to Indonesia anytime soon, as the Indonesia delegate tried to defend the country’s death penalty for drug possession. Although, he was almost booed off the stage.

But the highlight of the summit was Bolivian President Evo Morales (a former coca farmer, by the way). He called everybody out on the militarized approach on the drug war, calling it "ineffective" and harmful to respecting human rights, as reported by news organization teleSUR.

On top of that, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto became the first sitting president of the country to propose partial regulation of marijuana use. He said his administration would campaign for legalization of marijuana for medical and scientific uses — a message he got applause for, reported Fusion.

Not bad, considering he almost didn't show up at all. Well played, sir. Well played indeed.

So, What Now?

High drama was expected, and happened, but don’t expect any real change from it. UNGASS should be considered more a political theatrical production than a real vessel for change. But the rhetoric was there, and this is a positive, albeit small, movement for global drug policy reform.

I am hopeful that the cracks are starting to show and the evidence shows there’s no denying the failure of the war on drugs.

More than two-thirds of the population of the United States and its territories live in regions with some form of medical cannabis law. Canada, Israel, Czech Republic and Columbia (which both have also legalized possession and cultivation in small amounts), Croatia and Jamaica (which both have also decriminalized small amounts for personal use), Romania, Germany and Australia all have national medical cannabis programs, and many other countries are reviewing legislation. (It is worth noting that in early May, the German government approved a proposal to expand the country's medical marijuana program and to allow public health insurance to pay for medical marijuana for seriously ill patients for whom other treatments have been ineffective. Until now, only Canada had offered insurance coverage of any scale.)

Uruguay has fully legalized cannabis for adult use, the Netherlands has decriminalized personal use and legalized use in certain “coffee shops,” and more than 20 other countries have decriminalized small amounts for possession and/or cultivation for personal use, including Spain, Russia and Italy.

Drug policy reform will change, in my opinion — due more to capitalism, unfortunately, than global human rights — but hey, at least the wheels are starting to turn in the right direction, right?