2023-07-20 17:01:00
The National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published this Wednesday a technical note that prohibits the importation of marijuana flowers for medicinal purposes, as well as cannabis in nature and parts of the plant. Among the reasons for the prohibition are the high risk of diversion for illicit purposes and the validity of the international drug control treaties to which Brazil is a signatory.
As Folha has exposed, a parallel market for “legalized marijuana” for recreational use has developed in the country. The activity is carried out using an existing loophole in the Anvisa regulation, which has allowed the importation of marijuana flowers for medicinal purposes. This situation was possible because the RDC 660 standard refers to permission to import industrialized cannabis-based products without specifying which ones, an import that would be legal as long as it had a medicinal purpose. The matter reached the Federal Police, which has been working together with Anvisa to try to identify people and companies that take advantage of the regulation to bring in cannabis and give it recreational use. In the opinion of the authorities, the person who is detected carrying out this practice could be prosecuted for international drug trafficking.
Translated by José Alberto Gutiérrez
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