Anvisa asks the Justice for a preliminary injunction that ensures the production of medicinal cannabis oils from Abrace
Not satisfied with the maintenance of the injunction granted to the association in the first instance at the end of 2017, guaranteeing the entity the cultivation of cannabis for the production of medicinal oils, the government agency decided to use another legal measure at the beginning of the week to prevent Abrace’s work
At any time, the request made by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) that seeks to suspend the injunction that ensures Abrace (Associação Brasileira de Apoio Cannabis Esperança) the right to grow cannabis for medicinal purposes and to produce therapeutic oils, which currently serve thousands of patients throughout Brazil. Regardless of the decision, there is the possibility of appeals in the second instance for both parties.
>>> Sechat confirms for 2021 the biggest event on Medical Cannabis in Brazil
Not satisfied with the preliminary injunction granted to Abrace in the first instance at the end of 2017, guaranteeing the entity based in João Pessoa, Paraíba, the cultivation of cannabis for the production of medicinal oils, Anvisa decided to use the beginning of the week of yet another legal measure aimed at preventing Abrace’s work. The federal government agency, which is responsible for the regulation of medicines, presented on Monday (22) a request for the suspension of an injunction to TRF5, alleging that the association was producing on an industrial scale, in order to convince the Court that the injunction was being breached.
If Anvisa’s request is granted by the courts, 14,000 families suffering from serious illnesses will be harmed
Should the court decide in favor of the government regulatory agency’s request, the association would be legally prevented from continuing its production of medicinal oils made from marijuana, which currently benefits more than 14,000 families across Brazil. The report of the request for suspension of preliminary injunction to Abrace made by Anvisa is in charge of the judge Cid Marconi, who has not yet commented on the matter and can do so at any time.
Parallel to the possibility of appraising the request for the suspension of an injunction that was made by Anvisa at the beginning of the week, the Court scheduled for March, between March 11, 18, the virtual session of judgment on the merits of the lawsuit that Abrace is currently enjoying. injunction that gives the entity the right to plant and produce medicinal oils made from cannabis for its members. At the merit judgment, the vote will be in writing. As well as in the judgment of the request for the suspension of an injunction, whose assessment is pending, regardless of the result of the judgment of the abrace request for revocation of the preliminary injunction, both parties may appeal.
Meanwhile, in Brasilia
The future of PL 399/2015, which will regulate the cultivation, processing, research, production and marketing of cannabis-based products for medicinal and industrial purposes, is marked by uncertainties. Among them is the doubt about the resettlement of the special commission, which is a central theme for the continuation of the debate around the substitution of the bill.
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Questioned by Sechat , the Chamber informed that, until now, the exact date on which the commissions start operating in 2021 has not been defined, the format they will operate in and, mainly, which commissions will be authorized to operate. Decisions will depend on agreement at the leaders’ meeting.
If the pandemic of the new coronavirus continues to be one of the biggest obstacles in the path of PL 399/2015, even a year after the health problem started, the doubling of the public health crisis causes other negative impacts in the handling of the matter. The main one refers to the agenda priority. The pandemic has delayed debates considered essential by the government, such as administrative reform. In addition, it modified and congested the rite of the Chamber’s work, which is no longer usually fast even in times of normality.
According to the Chamber, President Arthur Lira (PP-AL) and Senator Rodrigo Pacheco (DEM-MG), who is president of the Senate, are committed to maintaining, even with all the problems, the agendas agreed with the government, as votes on the economic agenda and emergency aid. “We will continue to address important issues for Brazil, such as the proposed amendments to the Constitution (PECs) that are being processed in the Chamber and the Senate, such as vaccines and the fight against the pandemic,” said Lira. “All other matters are lateral.”
