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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