Cannabis market grows while omitting the risks of supposed medicinal use

Pro-marijuana movements have progressively expanded with the advance of technology.

On social networks, it is possible to find a series of profiles that deliberately and without any restriction promote the drug.

The trade of products based on the plant, with supposed medicinal effects, has also grown – a survey done by Kaya Mind, a Brazilian company specializing in data and market intelligence in the cannabis segment, showed that Brazil has more than 80 companies with CNPJ open that operate in this market, even without comprehensive regulation.

According to one of these companies, Remederi, the number of doctors prescribing the drug has recently increased by more than 250%, going from 200 prescribers in 2019 to more than 5,000 today.

Some websites indicate the step-by-step for those who wish to acquire the necessary prescription for cannabis products and that point out the possible health benefits of cannabidiol (CBD), one of the substances in the plant, but without mentioning the possible risks of marijuana to the body.

On the website PangaiaCBD run by an American company that operates in the Brazilian market as a dealer of cannabis-based products, the advertisement about the benefits of CBD draws attention.

Besides pointing to the substance as a natural painkiller capable of relieving pain, even in more serious cases such as cancer and fibromyalgia, the company says that CBD reduces symptoms of Alzheimer’s, epilepsy, and Parkinson’s disease and even improves sleep.

The studies on the use of cannabidiol for these diseases, however, are still of moderate or low quality. In addition, the indiscriminate use of the substance can present adverse effects and risks to the user.

On the other hand, the company also claims, on its site, that there are no side effects or contraindications regarding its simultaneous use with other drugs.

The tendentious propaganda worries specialists and anti-drug movements.

Another site that encourages medical treatment with cannabis is PangoCBD.

On the portal, the company does not hide its attempt to liberate the drug’s recreational use and even gives legal advice to those who wish to grow the plant.

An article on the site about the “cannabis market boom” says that “debureaucratization continues to be slow, and legalization of recreational use doesn’t seem close to happening. Either way, the wave is strong. Because while recreational use is not allowed, Brazilians find other opportunities to invest in the market.”

THERE IS NO ROBUST SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF CANNABIS

Several studies and the Brazilian Association of Psychiatry (ABP) itself have already pointed out that there is no definitive scientific evidence on the supposed benefits of the substance for most illnesses.

There are exceptions in cases cited by the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM), such as for patients with epileptic seizures related to Dravet, Doose, and Lennox-Gastaut syndromes.

In a new resolution restricting the use of cannabidiol, published last October, the CFM explained that the conclusions of studies are still fragile regarding the safety and efficacy of cannabidiol for the treatment of most diseases.

“The Council considers it prudent to await the progress of ongoing studies, avoiding exposing the population to situations of risk,” the CFM declared at the time.

In an interview with Gazeta do Povo, psychiatrist Ronaldo Laranjeira warned about the wide dissemination of false ideas about the medicinal use of marijuana, which disregards the most advanced scientific research.

“Marijuana is not magic, as if herb tea can make a patient better from a complex illness. That’s not how medicine works. Marijuana cannot be treated as a miracle drug that you make tea, and it will work. Medicine doesn’t work that way. It’s not safe for anyone to become a marijuana healer, and that’s what has been happening in Brazil,” he declared.

THE PROBLEMS WITH THE TERM “MEDICAL MARIJUANA”

Attorney Roberto Lásserre, national coordinator of the Brazil without Drugs Movement, regrets the approach used by some websites that, in his evaluation, are leading society into error.

“There is no such thing as medical marijuana. In Brazil, they are trying to get society to lower its guard so that in the near future, since ‘marijuana has medicinal effects,’ recreational use will be allowed. They are trying to lead society into error so that from then on they can ‘liberate generally’,” he says.

According to Brasserre, some judicial decisions have given “loopholes” for selling cannabis-based medicines.

He also cited a decision by the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) that guaranteed three people the possibility of growing marijuana plants to extract oil for their own use.

According to Brazilian legislation, the cultivation of the plant is a crime.

“It was an extremely badly worded decision to allow the planting of marijuana at home for medicinal purposes. And the worst thing is that many judges are making decisions of this type, opening precedents for a possible drug liberation,” explained the lawyer.

The court decisions, influenced by misinformation campaigns by companies interested in the drug’s liberation, contribute to increasing the circulation of clandestine extracts of homemade cannabidiol, many of which don’t work and can offer harmful side effects to those who consume them.

In Brazil, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) has only released the importation of cannabidiol, and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) extracts for manufacturing products in Brazil.

In 2019, the agency defined that these compounds would be marked with a black stripe due to the risk of dependence, increased tolerance (need to ingest increasing amounts to get the minimum desired effect), and intoxication.

The 20 products with these elements approved by the agency so far (they are not considered drugs due to lack of consolidated scientific evidence of effectiveness) need to be prescribed with a yellow (THC content less than 0.2%) or blue (THC content greater than 0.2%, higher risk) prescription.

The only medicine based on THC and cannabidiol approved to be imported in Brazil is Mevatyl, produced in the UK.

Anvisa approved it as an adjuvant medicine in treating spasticity in multiple sclerosis caused by damage or injury to the part of the central nervous system (brain or spinal cord) that controls voluntary movement.

MEDICINAL USE TO RELEASE RECREATIONAL USE

As pointed out by sources heard by the report, part of the supporters of the so-called “medical cannabis” use the medical use of marijuana flag to try to legalize the recreational use of the drug.

Lucas Gualtieri, a federal prosecutor and coordinator of the Special Action Group to Fight Crime (Gaeco) explains that although the diseases that can be treated with CBD are limited, companies that operate in the sector often take advantage of some medicinal properties to extend the so-called “recreational use” of marijuana.

“There is a distortion of the plant’s medicinal properties, leading to its use without the necessary controls for the protection of patients. The plant’s medicinal properties are used as a pretext to instill in society the idea that recreational use is harmless, which is not true, as demonstrated by consistent technical and scientific studies,” he declares.

“There are no safe means to control the doses of the active ingredient, and even the lack of control over the quality of the drug becomes a potential risk. I usually say that, didactically, defending the legalization of marijuana under the argument of medicinal purposes would be like defending the legalization of opium to enable the medicinal use of morphine,” he says.

Gazeta do Povo has already shown an enormous interest by the global financial market in marijuana.

According to an analysis by consultancy BDSA, published in March last year, global sales will grow 48% in 2020 compared to 2019, reaching US$21.3 billion.

The perspective is to reach 2026 at US$55.9 billion, representing an annual growth rate of around 17%.

In the National Congress, the marijuana lobby is trying at all costs to approve Bill 399/2015, which liberalizes activities such as cultivation, processing, storage, transport, industrialization, manipulation, and commercialization of marijuana-based products in the country and deals with the medicinal use of certain components of the plant.

The bill was approved by a special committee in the House of Representatives and awaits consideration in the House Plenary.

With information from Gazeta do Povo