Podcast: Marijuana regulation in Brazil – Folha – 08/16/2023 – Podcasts

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) should return to judge this Thursday (17) the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use. The process has been running in court since 2015 and is 4-0 in favor of making possession for personal consumption no longer a crime in Brazil.

In early August, Minister Alexandre de Moraes voted in favor of decriminalization. His position, of restricting the measure to marijuana, adds to those of Ministers Edson Fachin and Luis Roberto Barroso. In 2015, when the trial began, Gilmar Mendes defended that the measure be extended to all drugs, but in the resumption of the analysis he asked for time to review the vote and has yet to express his opinion about it.

While the STF decides on recreational use, other spheres also assess the regulation of cannabis, especially for medicinal purposes. Since 2014, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has authorized the importation of marijuana-based medicines.

In July, Anvisa banned the importation of marijuana flower or other parts of the plant for medicinal purposes, citing the risk of diversion of the plant for recreational use.

Marijuana-based medicines have not yet been incorporated into the SUS nationwide. With that, there is a flurry of state bills to guarantee these drugs in the public health system. A survey of Sheet showed that at least 24 units of the federation have already approved a rule or are debating the issue in the Legislature.

This Wednesday’s Breakfast (16) discusses the regulation of marijuana in Brazil. The episode explains the STF judgment and analyzes what is behind the authorization of the different uses of cannabis. The interviewee is lawyer Cristiano Maronna, doctor in criminal law from USP, director of the Justa platform and author of the book “Drug law interpreted from the perspective of freedom”.

The audio program is published on Spotify, streaming service partner of Sheet in the initiative and which specializes in music, podcast and video. You can listen to the episode by clicking above. To access the application, just register for free.

Breakfast is published from Monday to Friday, always at the beginning of the day. The episode is presented by journalists Gabriela Mayer and Magê Flores, with production by Carolina Moraes, Laila Mouallem and Victor Lacombe. Sound editing is by Thomé Granemann.