SP approves regulation that restricts the free use of Cannabis – 01/03/2024 – Cannabis Inc.

It took almost a year for the regulation of the São Paulo law on free education to be published. Cannabis medicine in the Unified Health System (SUS), which had been practically ready since April. Law 17,618 was sanctioned by Governor Tarcísio de Freitas, on January 31 of last year. A few days later, the Working Committee was created, with 32 bodies and entities – including patient associations and universities. The objective was to assemble a group capable of collaborating for the safe and efficient implementation of the policy throughout the State. Freitas even said, at the time, that the strategy would be a way for the law to actually get off the ground.

April was the deadline set by the Government for the end of the analysis and preparation of basic guidelines. Aware of the delay, the author of the law, deputy Caio França, and some members of the group, such as the Brazilian Bar Association of São Paulo (OAB-SP) and the Brazilian Society of Clinical Medicine, jointly issued a note demanding that the Secretariat of Health, coordinator of the Commission, published the regulations. At the time, nothing happened.

Seven months later – exactly in the last week of the year – it was published in the Official Gazette. And it did not bring any news that went beyond what had already been discussed by the members of the working group themselves. Initially, they will have the right to therapy based on Cannabis patients have Dravet and Lennox-Gastout Syndromes (which are two types of rare epilepsy), as well as Tuberous Sclerosis (a genetic disease that leads to the appearance of tumors). By restricting those covered so much, the Government greatly reduces the impact that the law could have on the health of Brazilians, since there are already scientific studies that demonstrate the efficiency of plant derivatives in a wider range of diseases, such as depression, insomnia and chronic cancer pain.

According to the Department of Health, the distribution of medicines will be carried out by all Specialized Medicines Pharmacies (FMEs) in the state network, as soon as the purchasing process is completed. But the agency has not yet set a deadline for the products to be available. “We hope that in the first months of 2024, we will be able to benefit this contingent of patients”, says José Luiz Gomes do Amaral, technical advisor to the state health department and coordinating doctor of the technical commission for regulating law 17,618.

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