Court decision in Brazil allows NGOs to grow and produce medical cannabis products

The decision of Judge José Carlos da Silva García guarantees the NGO the right to produce medicinal products derived from the hemp plant to make it available to more than 2,000 members from different parts of Brazil suffering from various diseases such as epilepsy, autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, chronic pain and anxiety.

With a certain periodicity, the pages of the specialized electronic publication of national hemp growers describe what is happening in one of the Latin American countries, which has advanced extremely far in matters of working with the hemp plant of non-governmental organizations. In particular, the question has already been raised that in early 2015, after a court decision allowing the import of cannabidiol (CBD) for the treatment of a child, the Brazilian government decided to transfer CBD from the list of illegal to the list of controlled substances. In 2022, “ Brazil's Supreme Court confirmed the right of the country's citizens to grow cannabis at home .” In addition, throughout 2022-23. Materials are regularly published related to the permission, through court rulings, for various types of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Brazil to grow, as well as use the leaves and inflorescences of therapeutically active varieties of the hemp plant. Another decision of the Brazilian courts, which allowed not only the use of therapeutically active “green mass” by members of a non-governmental organization for treatment, but also the use of derivatives obtained from the plant, is certainly informative for various types of structures operating in the hemp market of our country.

The Third Federal Court granted partial protection to the Brazilian Association for Access to Medicinal Cannabis of Rio de Janeiro (Associação brasileira de acesso a cannabis medicinal do Rio de Janeiro, AbraRio) for the research, cultivation, planting, harvesting, and use of therapeutically active cannabis used exclusively for medical purposes from claims from government agencies of the country.

The decision of Judge José Carlos da Silva García guarantees the NGO the right to produce medicinal products derived from the hemp plant to make it available to more than 2,000 members from different parts of Brazil suffering from various diseases such as epilepsy, autism, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, chronic pain and anxiety. With this solution, AbraRio will be able to safely produce therapeutically active products at its 2-hectare, 2,000-foot capacity rural headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

“This decision is an important milestone in the fight for access to medical cannabis in Brazil and strengthens our commitment to the mission of providing quality treatment and patient well-being,” said AbraRio President Marilyn Esperanza after the ruling was announced.

The history of obtaining permission to produce drugs from medical cannabis “AbraRio”

As of July 2021, Marilyn Esperanza received individual permission to grow therapeutically active cannabis, as well as produce cannabinoid oil for her son Lucas, who suffers from rare Rasmussen syndrome. Ms. Esperanza's desire to be able to help more families led her to file an individual lawsuit against AbraRio. The main objective that was set in the statement of claim was the possibility of legally growing therapeutically active varieties of hemp plants, as well as the production of various kinds of drugs from it (including medicinal ones) for the treatment of members of NGOs.

In August 2022, the Association obtained a partial injunction against government harassment of its activities, but the injunction was lifted in December of the same year. The association appealed, and almost a year later the decision was made.

The lawyer defending the interests of “AbraRio” in court emphasizes that “This kind of decision is a significant milestone, since its adoption means that the verdict has already entered into force. The judge granted access to medical cannabis subject to compliance with the “Anvisa” standard rather than obtaining permission from it. This represents a critical difference as this solution allows patients to enjoy the benefits of medical cannabis without waiting for bureaucratic approval.” Mr. Porto emphasizes that the court order restricts the dispensing of CBD oil and extracts to NGO members exclusively. “At this time, we intend to appeal because we believe in the importance of giving doctors the freedom to prescribe different forms of therapeutic cannabis, such as ointments or vaporization, according to the needs of each patient. I think this is much more the competence of a doctor than a judge.”

Commentary from specialists of the Association “Ukrainian Industrial Hemp”

Unlike our colleagues from Brazil, it is extremely difficult to defend in the courts the possibility of using therapeutically active hemp raw materials in Ukraine. Moreover, the draft amendments to the current regulatory framework still do not even raise the question of the possibilities of legal cultivation or use of therapeutically active cannabis by non-governmental organizations or individuals. This is all the more unfortunate due to the fact that in Ukraine the treatment mechanism using therapeutically active hemp raw materials of industrial hemp varieties of therapeutic orientation of national selection works effectively, which is explained in detail to students of the “Hemp University ” .

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