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DRUGS-HEALTH
‘Just say no’ to drug legalisation: WHO chief
MANILA, Oct 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – With Canada on the verge of becoming the
world’s second nation to legalise recreational marijuana, the head of the
World Health Organization said Wednesday that countries should think twice
before opening that door.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who was in the Philippines for a
regional meeting, told AFP the organisation supports availability of drugs
like marijuana for medical reasons.
“Of course we believe that people who need it, especially for pain
management, should have it. There should be access,” he said.
That access should be clearly regulated, he added, and throwing open the
doors to full legalisation carries its own health risks.
“I think any addictive substance is not good for human health,” he said.
“We wouldn’t encourage countries to follow those who are actually…
legalising it.”
As he spoke, Canada was a week away from allowing for adults to buy, grow
and consume cannabis, the second nation in the world to do so after Uruguay’s
move five years ago.
– ‘Understand impact’ –
Canadian officials have justified legalisation on the grounds that it would
take traffickers and dealers out of the equation and protect young people.
Nine American states have also given the greenlight to recreational use,
and many more allow it for medical purposes.
But Tedros said, similar to alcohol and tobacco, drugs like marijuana
needed to be controlled because of the risk they posed outside medical
settings.
He pointed to the strides nations around the world have made in curbing
tobacco smoking, which the WHO considers to be the substance that causes the
most damage to health globally.
While use is levelling off or even decreasing in some countries, WHO
estimates there are still over a billion smokers globally.
As cannabis legalisation grows, the United Nations figures point to a much
smaller number of users, with 2013 numbers showing nearly 182 million non-
medical users.
For countries that do proceed with recreational legalisation, Tedros said
it is key that they closely monitor the impact on their citizens’ health.
Legalisation has already prompted a range of questions on public safety
that Canadian authorities have had to broach.
They have reminded motorists that driving while high is still illegal,
while soldiers are to be banned from smoking or otherwise consuming the drug
up to eight hours before reporting for duty.
“We are encouraging them to understand its impact and do assessments from
the start,” Tedros added.
“Legalising it we hope will not mean that they are really not to be
encouraged to study its impact.”
BSS/AFP/SSS/1705 hrs