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‘treaty’

What are the Possible Ramifications of the UN’s Vote to Reschedule Marijuana?

Dec. 3, 2020—On Wednesday, the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs narrowly voted to re-schedule cannabis under the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961. In particular, the Commission approved a recommendation from the World Health Organization (WHO) to remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs of 1961. (The recommendation in full stated:...

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How the Trump Administration is Using International Law to Block Cannabis Research in the United States

Sep. 22, 2020—I’ve just posted a short paper that will soon appear in the American Journal of International Law Unbound (the journal’s online companion). The paper illuminates how the Trump Administration has used international law to block research on marijuana in the United States. The full paper, Using One Dying Regime to Save Another: The Influence of International Drug...

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Could the President Legalize Marijuana Through Executive Action?

Mar. 19, 2020—The title of this post is inspired by Senator Bernie Sanders’s campaign promise “to legalize marijuana in the first 100 days [of his Administration] with executive action.” See here. Other Democratic Presidential hopefuls made similar promises, but since Sanders is the last such candidate standing (former Vice President Joe Biden has made no similar promise),...

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Two New Articles on the International Law Ramifications of State Marijuana Reforms

Jun. 9, 2018—State marijuana reforms raise a host of nettlesome–and seldom discussed–questions about United States compliance with and the ultimate fate of international drug control treaties. Fortunately, two new articles focus on those questions and begin to fill the gap in the literature. The first is by Brian Blumenfed, an attorney and researcher: Pacta Sunt Servanda: State Legalization of Marijuana...

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