Research: Medical Cannabis Regulation in Brazil: Patients’ Demands Through the Courts of Justice

This article examines the regulation of medical cannabis in Brazil, focusing on the judicialization of this issue in the country. To do so, we conducted ethnographic fieldwork with the actors involved in these processes, especially patient-litigants, their families, and lawyers. Since the 2010s, there has been a change in the regulation of medical cannabis in Brazil, especially due to legal actions in the courts by patient-litigants seeking access to cannabis. Although Congress resists changes to the drug law, reaffirming its prohibitionist stance, these actions were essential in ensuring access to cannabis. Initially, they aimed to import products containing cannabis extracts. As demand increased, the government assumed a more adaptable attitude and altered the legal classification of two plant constituents: CBD and THC. This enabled them to be sold locally in pharmacies but, due to the high cost of cannabis-based treatment for most people, legal measures were enacted to allow access to medical cannabis and its cultivation within the country. In this context, patient-litigants have employed various judicial strategies to secure access, ranging from lawsuits demanding that the Brazilian government cover importation costs to applying for writs of habeas corpus that permit home cultivation without fear of arrest, despite the prohibition on cultivation. Thus, based on the explanation of these processes and employing the categories of ‘running after’ (correr atrás) and ‘taking legal action’ (entrar na justiça), we seek to describe how the regulation of medicinal cannabis in Brazil has positioned patient-litigant within the judiciary as a central element of this regulatory process in the country.