The Superior Court of Justice (STJ) of Brazil authorized for the first time the cultivation of marijuana in the Latin American giant, in an unprecedented decision that only applies to three plaintiffs who requested permission to produce the herb to use it for their own medicinal purposes.
Source: EFE
The safe-conduct granted unanimously by the members of the Sixth Chamber of the high court, however, can serve as a precedent for similar decisions by judges of lower instances.
The decision of the magistrates was in response to two different appeals presented by three interested in cultivating marijuana in an artisanal way in Brazil in order to extract cannabidiol, the component of the herb that is used in different medicines.
The plaintiffs, authorized to cultivate the yerba without running the risk of being arrested by the police for incurring in a practice still considered illegal, undertook to use the medicines for their own benefit and with the respective medical prescription.
Despite the fact that the Brazilian health authorities endorse the medicinal use of marijuana and allow the importation of medicines that contain derivatives of weed, the law still punishes the cultivation, sale, possession and consumption of marijuana with imprisonment regardless of the dose.
Brazil included Cannabis sativa (marijuana) in its list of medicinal plants in 2017 and has since authorized the use of medicines derived from weed, as long as they are imported.
Medicines that use active ingredients from marijuana, such as cannabidiol or tetrahydrocannabidiol (THC), are recommended in Brazil for treating diseases such as epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, autism, chronic pain and Parkinson’s disease.
Until Tuesday’s unprecedented decision, those responsible for the cultivation of marijuana in the country could be prosecuted based on the Anti-Narcotics Law and sentenced.
In the trial this Tuesday, the representative of the Prosecutor’s Office, José Elaeres Marques, affirmed that cultivating cannabis for patients with serious illnesses cannot be classified as a crime because the state of necessity excludes illegality.
“Despite the possibility of importing and obtaining the product, the price is still a determining factor for the interruption of treatment in several cases. For this reason, several families, looking for a viable alternative, have resorted to Justice and requested safe passages to cultivate and extract the medicinal extract of cannabis at home without the risk of being arrested, “said the prosecutor.
Judge Rogério Schietti, who was the instructor of the process, assured that the discussion is not about a crime but about “human health” and about the “dignity of the human person”.
“Both the Ministry of Health and the National Health Surveillance Agency (regulator) refuse to regulate the matter and assure that the responsibility lies with the other body. Meanwhile, thousands of Brazilian families are left at the mercy of omission, inertia and state contempt for something that, I repeat, involves the health and well-being of many Brazilians, most of whom are unable to afford the importation of medicines” , he claimed.
