{"id":32395,"date":"2021-06-25T15:07:11","date_gmt":"2021-06-25T15:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/?post_type=noticia&p=32395"},"modified":"2021-06-30T13:34:56","modified_gmt":"2021-06-30T13:34:56","slug":"the-state-of-medical-marijuana-use-in-brazil","status":"publish","type":"noticia","link":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/en\/noticias\/the-state-of-medical-marijuana-use-in-brazil\/","title":"The state of medical marijuana use in Brazil","content":"

In a fierce vote, the Lower House of Congress approved in early June, in a special committee, Bill 399\/15 that legalizes the manufacture and sale of products containing cannabis sativa \u2013 marijuana \u2013 for medical, veterinary and scientific purposes. The bill received 17 votes in favor and 17 against, giving the rapporteur the tie-breaking vote.<\/span><\/p>\n

The passage of the bill in the committee had \u201cconclusive status\u201d, meaning it can be sent directly to the Senate without approval by a full session of the Lower House. However, this is unlikely to occur because members of Congress opposed to the bill will file an appeal to force a vote by the full session of the house, in the hopes that a majority of lawmakers will vote against it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Resistance to the bill has not only come from the National Congress. The federal government, responsible for either signing or vetoing the bill, if it is approved by lawmakers, has already expressed on different occasions its disregard for the medicinal value of marijuana. President Jair Bolsonaro has <\/span>called the bill \u201cgarbage\u201d<\/span><\/a> and indicated that he will veto it. In spite of this position by the government, 78% of Brazilians support medical marijuana use, according to a <\/span>survey by Exame\/Ideia<\/span><\/a> that asked 1,243 people in May 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the international stage, the Brazilian government \u2013 together with Russia and Cuba \u2013 voted against a resolution of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs that, in December 2020, <\/span>stopped classifying marijuana as a dangerous narcotic<\/span><\/a> and recognized its therapeutic uses. While only these three countries voted against the resolution, 27 were in favor of the reclassification that is aligned with the recommendation of the WHO (World Health Organization). Brazil <\/span>justified its vote<\/span><\/a> by saying that it has a \u201czero tolerance policy on drugs\u201d and that medical use could increase recreational use.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Henrique Apolinario, a lawyer for the Program to Combat Institutional Violence at Conectas, \u201cbanning the therapeutic use of marijuana, already scientifically proven, infringes on the right to health of countless families, especially black and poor families that are unable to import cannabis, while the refusal to permit any research limits the work of Brazilian scientists, who will lag behind their peers in most other countries\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2016, Anvisa (National Health Regulatory Agency), approved the first marijuana-based medicine in Brazil, a product recommended for the treatment of spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.\u00a0In March 2020, Anvisa also granted its first authorization for the sale of a product containing up to 0.2% THC, establishing the \u201ccannabis-based product\u201d category at the agency. People can only buy it ready-made and with a prescription, following the rejection of the proposal for the regulation of marijuana cultivation for medicinal and scientific uses.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnvisa has been updating its position on the medical use of cannabis in Brazil, still limiting consumption to manufactured products, which in practice prevents low-income families from having access to the product. The agency has come under direct pressure from the Bolsonaro government for discussing the matter, including having a military officer appointed as its director,\u201d said Apolinario.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Access still restricted<\/b><\/p>\n

Although it is possible, access to these medicines is quite restricted and generally associated with legal strategies to obtain authorization to use the plant or the ability to afford imported products. As a result, researchers, individuals and associations have filed habeas corpus petitions to conduct studies and produce medicines.<\/span><\/p>\n

In February this year, Cultive (Cannabis and Health Association) <\/span>obtained the first collective habeas corpus in the criminal sphere<\/span><\/a> to work with the plant. Before this, all the habeas corpus have been in the civil sphere.<\/span><\/p>\n

The court ruling states that \u201cthe realization of the principle of dignity, as well as the rights to life and to health, which must prevail over the prohibition on cultivating the plant from which is extracted the substance used specifically for the treatment of patients in a context of need, adequacy and proportionality.\u201d This ruling draws on Law 11,343\/2006 \u2013 which gives the federal government the right to permit the planting of cannabis exclusively for medical and scientific purposes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHaving to depend on weak court rulings is a cruel situation imposed on thousands of Brazilians for whom cannabis is a medicine, often for very serious diseases. While there are still politicians trying to hold back the debate with outdated arguments about the harmful effects of cannabis, Brazil is moving in the opposite direction to the rest of the world and people continue to face prosecution for drug use,\u201d said Apolin\u00e1rio.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

<\/div>","excerpt":"

In a fierce vote, the Lower House of Congress approved in early June, in a special committee, Bill 399\/15 that legalizes the manufacture and sale of p…<\/p>\n","author":26,"featured_media":32258,"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"categories":[7],"tags":[12,12369,13031],"tema":[12270],"class_list":["post-32395","noticia","type-noticia","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-first-tag","tag-marijuana","tag-war-drugs","tema-confronting-institutional-violence"],"acf":{"subtitle-pt":"Congress analyzes bill considered \u201cgarbage\u201d by Bolsonaro; federal government adopts prohibitionist policy and undermines social progress and public health advances","links_para_referencia":[{"titulo-referencia":"Cannabis in Brazil and around the world: the country\u2019s stance and the harm caused by the war on drugs","arquivo_referencia":false,"link_externo":"https:\/\/conectas.org\/en\/noticias\/cannabis-in-brazil-and-around-the-world-the-countrys-stance-and-the-harm-caused-by-the-war-on-drugs\/"}],"author":{"ID":26,"user_firstname":"Gabriel","user_lastname":"Guerra","nickname":"gabriel.guerra","user_nicename":"gabriel-guerra","display_name":"Gabriel Guerra","user_email":"","user_url":"","user_registered":"2021-03-15 20:54:31","user_description":"","user_avatar":""}},"yoast":{"focuskw":"marijuana","title":"","metadesc":"Congress analyzes bill considered \u201cgarbage\u201d by Bolsonaro; 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