Officials of the European Union (EU), have given activists permission to launch a signature campaign for a multinational initiative that would promote access to medical cannabis and research into its therapeutic potential.
The European Commission announced Tuesday that it had agreed to partially register this initiative. This means that advocates will have six month to launch a petitioning campaign and one year to collect at least one million signatures of seven or more member states in order to force consideration.
The activists who backed the measure outlined three objectives that they wanted the commission to pursue. However, the body only said it could register two of those.
One of the approved objectives asks that the commission “encourage access to medical marijuana and allow transportation of cannabis and derivatives prescribed as therapeutic drugs to ensure full enjoyment of right to health”. The other request is for the EU to allocate “the resources necessary for research cannabis for its therapeutic uses.”
The commission stated that it was not in a place to declare another goal to “convene an trans-European citizen’s assembly on cannabis policy, including sanctions, and the consistency of Member States policies.”
The Commission refused to register the first goal of the initiative because it was not within its powers to propose a legal act in this matter.
The Commission added that it had not yet analysed the proposals in their entirety. The decision to register the initiative, as far as its second and a third objective are concerned, has a legal character and does not prejudge any final legal and politic conclusions by the Commission about this initiative, and what action, if anything, it intends to take if the initiative receives the required support.
Originally, the organizers had proposed a slightly expanded version of the project in November last year. However, the objectives were then consolidated following a first review and feedback by the commission.
The commission must decide if it will act on the request if the proponents collect more than one million signatures in the timeframe of one year.
The measure titled “European Cannabis Initiative (ECI)” states that the EU “has adopted progressive common positions on innovative approaches human rights-centered drug policy, a position reflected in its involvement in relevant United Nations meeting.”
The report also highlights that some member states, such as Germany Luxembourg, and Malta are advancing broader reforms for legalizing marijuana.
“The lack in progress on the control of illicit narcotics throughout Europe requires a radical rethinking the approach which has failed to reduce drug demand or supply for decades. It is not clear that the tougher penalties have led to a more efficient European drugs control system. However, it has created resources to reduce risks and/or harmful effects associated with problematic drug use. This ECI intends on addressing some of the reasons that this happened.”
Last year, a group of experts from the United Nations called for the end of the global war against drugs. A separate drug policy committee comprised of Presidents and Prime Ministers of countries around the globe advocated legalized and regulated access.
Leaders of the coalition government in Germany said recently that they have reached an agreement on a law to legalize cannabis nationwide. resolved outstanding disagreements which had delayed action. This sets the stage for a voting in the last week of February, and the enactment of the bill in April.
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The original post European Union Commission Approves Transnational Medical Marijuana and Research Initiative for Signature Gathering first appeared on Marijuana moment.
