CBD in Brazil

Brazil: The Medicinal Cannabis Associations of Brazil have reacted strongly in opposition to a booklet issued by the Ministry of Citizenship on the risks of using and legalising cannabis. The government’s position was put by Quirino Cordeiro, minister for drug care and prevention, who said: “The federal government has a firm position against drugs, being in full harmony with Brazilian society.”

Brazil: The board of the National Public Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has unanimously approved the importation of cannabis in its raw form. The decision will allow companies to extract CBD and manufacture CBD medical products in Brazil, rather than only importing ready-to-use medical products. 

Brazil: The Superior Court of Justice has authorised three patients to grow cannabis for their own medicinal use. The court emphasised that the authorities’ failure to regulate the use of medical cannabis “makes the prescribed medical treatment for patients practically unviable, given the high cost of importation, the irregularity in the supply of national oil, and the impossibility of producing the prescribed drugs on a handcrafted basis”. Although not binding, the decision sets an important legal precedent for lower courts.

Brazil: The Superior Court of Justice has ruled that private health insurance companies are not obliged to cover treatments and medicine products that do not appear on the National Health Agency (ANS) list, such as medicinal cannabis. According to industry members, this may make access to such products more difficult, but patients will still be able to request them on a case-by-case basis through the courts.

Brazil: Deputy Ricardo Izar of the Republican Party, part of the majority coalition in the Chamber of Deputies, has presented a draft legislative decree to regulate the national production of biosynthetic cannabinoids obtained from yeast fermentation, intended exclusively for export of cosmetics. The proposal will be analysed by both chambers of the National Congress – the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate – and does not need the president’s approval.

Brazil: The National Public Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has published a resolution consolidating the existing rules on medicinal cannabis imports and adding hospitals, health authorities and health care providers to those who may import approved cannabis products. The resolution comes into force on 2nd May.

Brazil: The National Public Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has authorised the importation, distribution and sale of three new cannabis-based products: cannabidiol Belcher 150 mg/ml, cannabidiol Aura Pharma 50 mg/ml and cannabidiol Greencare 23.75 mg/ml. The authority has approved 14 cannabis-based products so far.