Brazil approves medical marijuana rules, blocks cannabis cultivation

Anvisa’s approval of rules to regulate the nascent medical marijuana market represents a major shift in a country that has suffered years of deadly drug violence.

Nonetheless, the decision to prohibit domestic plantations shows that Brazil, led by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, is not yet willing to join peers Colombia and Uruguay and develop its own vertically integrated medical marijuana sector.

A spokesman for Anvisa said that Brazilian firms interested in manufacturing cannabis-based products would need to import inputs from aboard.

It its statement announcing the regulatory approval, Anvisa said the new rules would be published in the country’s official gazette in the next few days and come into law 90 days after that. Anvisa also set out specific rules for the manufacture, import, sale, packaging, marketing and regulation of the new class of cannabis-based products.

Brazil’s decision to allow cannabis-based products is part of a slowly changing worldwide view toward illegal drugs, with growing investment in the medicinal benefits of marijuana and other narcotics. [Read More @ Reuters]