Brazil allows import, sale of cannabis-based medicine

Anvisa, Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency, announced on Wednesday that it will no longer forbid the sale of medicine containing cannabidiol, a cannabis-based substance, in the country.

The decision follows great pressure from society, as cannabidiol-based drugs have been employed to treat neurological conditions such as rare syndromes and epilepsy cases, some of which affect children and cause dozens of daily convulsions.

Recently, parents of children who underwent considerable improvement in convulsions symptoms by using cannabidiol-based medicine appeared in Fantastico, a prominent local news program, explaining the difficulty in obtaining the drug.

With Anvisa releasing cannabidiol-based medicine for sale in Brazil, companies can request licenses to produce it in the country and patients can import it. Imports will be controlled, requiring Anvisa's authorization and medical prescriptions.

Anvisa's Director Jaime Oliveira highlighted that studies show that the cannabidiol medicine does not cause addiction, thus there is no reason to forbid those drugs in Brazil.

The prescription of cannabidiol-based substances has already been permitted by Brazil's Federal Medicine Council which regulates medical activities in the country. Only specialists such as neurologists and psychiatrists can prescribe the drugs. Endi