In its Annual Report for 2022, the INCB presents an overview of the state of international drug control relative to the provisions of the UN drug control conventions. It identifies several familiar themes and issues and includes a ongoing focus on ensuring the availability of controlled substances for medical and scientific purposes. Indeed, although not without its problems, The Board continue to highlight the importance of human rights in the implementation of a range of drug control policies. Mindful of the increasing attention within international discussions given to the adoption by some States of regulated cannabis markets for adult recreational use, it is no surprise that chapter one of the Report is devoted to ‘Analysis of the trend to legalize non-medical use of cannabis’. The discussion here expands on the INCB’s reoccurring attention to the issue found elsewhere within the publication. The Board provides a useful overview of the current state of play and many of the imperatives behind policy shifts towards what it refers to as cannabis ‘legalization’.