Brazil: increasing number of legal actions to obtain the right to self-cultivate medical cannabis

Since 2015, Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) has been issuing import permits on a case-by-case basis as part of a compassionate medical cannabis program. However, the price of imported medicine is prohibitive for patients, who are increasingly turning to the courts to obtain the right to self-cultivation. There are already some fifty cases across the country.

Medical cannabis increasingly sought after by Brazilian patients

According to data from Marijuana Business Daily, since 2015, around 6,000 import permits have been granted, both new and renewed. Almost 3,000 permits were granted in 2018 and over 1,000 in the first quarter of 2019 (884 new permits and 170 renewals). Patient demand for medical cannabis is growing steadily. That said, there appear to be few renewals (permits must be renewed every year), partly due to the very high price of medical cannabis imports.

According to Douglas, As one of the latest patients to obtain the right to grow his own cannabis, importing cannabis oil from abroad would cost him over €2,200 a month. He consumes around 3 to 4 30 ml bottles of oil a month. «For me it was impossible. Then came the idea of reducing this cost by growing my own,» he explains. So he took his case to court, asserting his constitutional right to access to healthcare. He still had to pay legal fees and invest almost €4,500 in growing equipment (greenhouses, lights), which he felt was preferable to his previous situation.

Douglas suffers from an incurable herniated disc that causes him intense chronic pain. I couldn't walk,« he says, »and conventional painkillers didn't work for me. I'm a 32-year-old man bedridden on morphine, practically crippled. I was taking three morphine tablets a day and it wasn't working. What's stronger than morphine? Nothing. Then my doctor suggested cannabis oil as an alternative. I was able to walk again. It improved my quality of life by 200%," says Douglas. He even claims to have resumed sporting activity.

An unfavorable political context

Not all patients have the time or means to go to court or to import cannabis oil. Moreover, these procedures remain exceptional. Many people therefore grow their cannabis illegally, despite the risks involved. Some associations are trying to make medical cannabis products available at a lower cost - in 2017, one of them has obtained the right to grow cannabis for its members - but the scope of these initiatives remains limited. A bill authorizing the self-cultivation of medical cannabis had been voted by certain parliamentary committees but has seen no progress since November 2018.

With reactionary president Jair Bolsonaro which has reignited the war on drugs, the proposal is unlikely to become law. The latter recently issued a decree enshrining a hardening of anti-drug policies. The decree says nothing about medical cannabis, but rekindles the fears of patients who cultivate without authorization. What's more, it has been hailed by the Federal Council of Medicine and the Brazilian Psychiatric Association, two organizations that are opposed to the authorization of medical cannabis.