Cannabidiol Sales Grow, But Domestic Production Remains Small | Science and health

the use therapeutic in Material extracted from the plant marijuana More than doubled last year in Brazil, but production is still very limited in the country, due to the ban. much to consume Right or he imported Or they are presented by those who have received a positive decision in court.

According to the Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry of the State of São Paulo, the sale of cannabis containing CBD increased from more than 50,000 in 2021 to more than 170,000 in 2022.

• Holocaust survivor who discovered THC, the main psychoactive ingredient in marijuana
• Why legal marijuana cultivation is not profitable in Latin America

A few years ago, COO Talita Coelho was diagnosed with a deep depression that prevented her from leaving the house. It was the cannabis treatment that made her overcome her anxiety attacks. I obtained judicial permission to cultivate the plant and extract essential oil from it.

“Cultivation is a lot of work, so habeas corpus is not a definitive solution to everything you need as a patient. You have to take the trouble to study every cycle of plants, and grow them properly, without any pests. This is very difficult when it comes to cannabis. It is a very delicate plant. “You have to make sure you don’t own anything, because that will become your medicine. I’d like to be able to buy my medicine at an affordable price and have it produced in a way that I trust,” he notes.

The increase in consumption does not match the supply in Brazil, where anti-drug law prohibits the cultivation and commercial exploitation of cannabis, even for therapeutic use. In pharmacies, there are already drugs containing marijuana isolates, and it is also possible to import them directly, but in both cases the costs are high.

The practice of personal cultivation requires court permission, and initiatives to introduce the drug in the Unified Health System (SUS) are just beginning. Another alternative, which is much more accessible, is associations.

“To really talk about democratic access to this treatment, we need to start talking about the indoor cultivation of the domestic production of this oil. Brazil comes from an embargo and we can’t have production here because of our legislation. Nowadays, growing it, handling it, storing it These are all behaviors that are prohibited by our legal system, points out Gabriela Arima, director of the Drug Law Reform Legal Network.

In his office, osteopath Jose Wilson Andrade has seen an increase in patients seeking cannabis treatments and notes, in practice, the benefits of these substances.

“When I prescribe a cannabinoid derivative, a cannabinoid, to a patient with chronic pain, I will treat his pain, but I will improve the quality of his sleep, and I will reduce the degree of anxiety, and then other factors associated with chronic pain are also treated with the same drug,” the doctor explains.

He adds that the drug has fewer side effects. When we talk about pain relievers and anti-inflammatories, for example, you can buy them at a pharmacy without a prescription. They have major problems, partly with the kidneys, partly with the stomach. There are many side effects, especially in the elderly. And the use of cannabis has been able to replace this type of drug with more safety,” he assesses.