In a recently published report, ‘High compliance, a lex lata legalization for the non-medical cannabis industry,’ Kenzi Riboulet-Zemouli claims to have discovered a new legal justification for regulating recreational cannabis in accordance with the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. This option, according to Riboulet-Zemouli, went unnoticed by governments and by numerous experts ostensibly blinded by an orthodox prohibitionist treaty interpretation in the past decades. The report contends that it “easily finds a pathway where a ‘cannabis legalization’ in good faith is possible,” arguing that non-medical use of cannabis fits under the treaty exemption―in Article 2(9)―for “drugs which are commonly used in industry for other than medical or scientific purposes.”
Lengthy and amply resourced, the paper looks impressive. And the analysis does take into account several valid arguments that seemingly contribute to making the case for such a creative re-interpretation of the flexibility embedded in the Single Convention. At first glance, the argument that the Single Convention already allows for recreational cannabis legalization may hold appeal, as it purports to offer an enticingly easy way to overcome the treaty-related obstacles facing countries that are choosing the path of legal regulation of cannabis for not only medical purposes but for recreational uses as well.
A closer reading, however, quickly reveals the confused and legally indefensible nature of the paper’s proposed escape route. And while we consider the UN drug control treaties to be out of date and not fit for purpose, we strongly disagree with proposals that would seek to overcome the challenges on the basis of legally unsound and invalid arguments. The ‘High compliance’ paper constructs a legal house of cards that comes tumbling down when its core arguments are contested and taken out.
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