The issue of the medical use of cannabis is one in which the Board has failed to match the progress it has made in certain other areas, such as the death penalty. Its position on the therapeutic applications of cannabis remains as it was at the close of the UNGASS decade; indeed, if anything, it…

The INCB has asked the VNGOC for suggestions of suitable civil society organisations to meet during their upcoming mission to Austria in mid June 2019. Apply before 5th June!

Mr de Joncheere is a Dutch citizen and has expertise in pharmacy and health sciences. He was previously Director of the Department of Essential Medicines and Health Products at the World Health Organization.

As part of its recently concluded 125th Session in May 2019, the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) invited civil society to a special ‘hearing’ on the topic of young people and drugs – which will be the thematic focus for the Board’s 2019 Annual Report.

The INCB's participation at CND showed how far the Board has come in terms of supporting human rights norms in the pursuit of drug control obligations, but the Board's outdated inflexibility on cannabis is regrettable.

The hearing will be on the topic of "Young People and Drugs" and will take place on May 8 2019, 10 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. in Vienna, Austria.

The INCB covers developments in the implementation of drug control, including related to cannabis.

To remain relevant, INCB would do well to support governments to negotiate this new terrain rather than seeking to stall and undermine developments in cannabis legislation.

The response by the Board's President to a Thai party including the legal regulation of cannabis in their electoral platform is beyond disproportionate.

The Board has moved some distance from its previous reticence to condemn the use of the death penalty for drug offences.