Brazil: over 10,000 applications for medical cannabis authorizations

The total number of authorizations granted to Brazilian patients to import cannabis for medical purposes exceeded 10,000 at the end of June 2019. Since the program was launched in 2014, this is the highest number of authorizations ever granted.

In Brazil, once authorized by the government, patients can import a maximum quantity of therapeutic cannabis set on a case-by-case basis, for a period of up to one year. Authorizations can be renewed annually. In most cases, only CBD oils are imported, as the Federal Council of Medicine, the body responsible for regulating the medical profession, has restricted the prescription of CBD, which can now only be used to treat refractory epilepsy in children and adolescents.

The first shipment was delivered by MedReleaf Corp from Canada in 2017. The export was to treat the symptoms of Sofia Langenbach, a child with the genetic syndrome CDKL5, which led her to suffer from refractory epilepsy and severe seizures that, for her, had only been relieved by the use of medical cannabis. Her mother, Margarette Santos de Brito, currently president of APEPI («Support for Research and Patients Treated with Medical Cannabis»), Brazil's first and largest cannabis patient association, had already won a landmark case to grow her own cannabis. She has been a leading campaigner for the legalization of medical cannabis in Brazil for many years, and it is largely thanks to her actions that a greater number of patients have been able to enjoy the benefits of cannabis. easier access to medical cannabis.

Last June, ANVISA (Brazil's ANSM) proposed two projects which, if approved, could lead to the creation of a new drug, regulate the national cultivation of cannabis for medical purposes and would create a framework for the registration of products without completed clinical trials. After taking comments on the proposals until August 19, ANVISA announced that it had received a total of 1,554 comments.Around two-thirds of the contributions felt that ANVISA's proposals would have a positive impact. More than 60% of the participants identified themselves as potential «consumers», the agency said in its statement. A final decision is expected by the end of October.