Thor Benson / Cannabis News Box Contributor

The UN is preparing to debate whether cannabis should be rescheduled under international treaties that currently label it a Schedule I drug, as it is within the United States. Leading up to this, the FDA is asking the public what it thinks about cannabis’ classification. If cannabis is rescheduled by the UN, that would make it easier for it to be rescheduled or legalized in America. Members of the public can comment until April 23.

“Traditionally, the US has pushed treaty signatories to follow US drug policy and goals, despite a lot of pushback,” Morgan Fox, communications manager for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), told Cannabis News Box. “In addition, we’ve never really let international treaties hold us back from doing whatever we want as a nation. I’m not sure that leaving the treaty as it is currently will be a major hurdle for legalization efforts in the U.S.”

Technically the U.S. has promised to not legalize cannabis because of these drug control treaties its part of, but Fox argues that the U.S. doesn’t always follow the rules of these kinds of treaties anyway. She said what might make a difference is if other countries that are part of these treaties start rescheduling or descheduling cannabis after the UN makes its decision.

“International descheduling would certainly benefit the push for legalization here, both in terms of rhetoric but also because other member nations would probably be more likely to reexamine their cannabis policies, and more countries legalizing for adults could put pressure on U.S. lawmakers to not be left behind,” Fox said.

As we all know at this point, Trump’s administration hasn’t been the friendliest when it comes to cannabis. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is itching to start an all-out war with cannabis. However, there’s not a whole lot the Trump administration could do to prevent the UN from rescheduling or descheduling cannabis.

“The administration cannot prevent the UN from declassifying marijuana directly, but it can exert pressure on the UNODC to maintain the status quo, and it could certainly put pressure on the FDA to present biased findings that promote current federal law,” Fox said.

If you think it’s important that the FDA fight for descheduling cannabis in its international treaties, then you only have a couple weeks to make your voice heard, so submit your comments soon.