Brazil, the largest country in South America, with an ancient culture and tradition, immense natural resources and a exploding urban population and lifestyle, is one of the world's fast-growing economies. The majestic Amazon region is home to many indigenous communities thousands of years old. Some of the tribes in the deep Amazon regions still retain their unchanged traditions and ways of life with little or no contact with the rest of the world. Cannabis is known to be a way of life among many of these tribes and life without cannabis is unimaginable to them.
With the arrival of Europeans, native civilizations underwent changes and many were consumed by the urbanization characterized by the European way of life, surrendering their lives in nature and ending up in slums in large cities. The Europeans took back tobacco, minerals and coca and introduced pharmaceuticals drugs, petrochemicals, cocaine and heroin. Therefore it is no surprise that the shaman and ayahuasca are fading into the background while the glass and steel of Rio De Janeiro and urban industries increasingly shine in the foreground. The Amazon that is by far the world's most precious forest area is fast going up in smoke in the name of development. Urban youth are freely exposed to heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, synthetic cannabis and numerous street drugs.
With the arrival of Europeans, native civilizations underwent changes and many were consumed by the urbanization characterized by the European way of life, surrendering their lives in nature and ending up in slums in large cities. The Europeans took back tobacco, minerals and coca and introduced pharmaceuticals drugs, petrochemicals, cocaine and heroin. Therefore it is no surprise that the shaman and ayahuasca are fading into the background while the glass and steel of Rio De Janeiro and urban industries increasingly shine in the foreground. The Amazon that is by far the world's most precious forest area is fast going up in smoke in the name of development. Urban youth are freely exposed to heroin, cocaine, amphetamines, alcohol, synthetic cannabis and numerous street drugs.
Brazil ranked second in the world in terms of Covid fatalities for some time, which is, in reality, a direct indicator of the extent of pharmaceutical and synthetic drug abuse among its population as well as the emphasis of the governments and elites towards promoting the synthetic pharmaceutical and allied medical industry. Brazil is one of the countries that faced the brunt of the fake pandemic Covid-19 created to consolidate the position of the elite classes of society and bring more wealth to some of the industries that are threatened by cannabis legalization - the petrochemical, synthetic pharmaceutical and medical industries. Brazil's former leader Jair Bolsonaro worked closely with the autocratic leaders who, together with the cannabis opposing industries that have laid the world to waste, created the fake pandemic. Bolsonaro was ejected from his seat of power by the people, like Boris Johnson, but the other conspirators - Xi, Putin, Modi and the jack-in-the-box Trump - still hold power ensuring that the global elites and the destructive industries that they use to consolidate their wealth and hold over the planet prolong the inevitable global legalization of cannabis. Bolsonaro, who shares the same imbecilic mindset as the Covid conspirators and the elites of the world opposed to cannabis, used the infamous War on Drugs strategy to peddle the synthetic drugs for the elites and chain the working classes and the poor. Talking Drugs reported that 'He draws his inspiration from President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, whose hard-line approach has led to over 12,000 deaths of people for alleged involvement with drugs. Bolsonaro has said that Duterte “did the right thing for his country”. Currently, the Brazilian military is involved in targeting drug cartels, but Bolsonaro wants to further integrate soldiers’ role into drug law enforcement; “in the streets, in the schools even, the bandidos [bandits] sell drugs and smoke marijuana openly” he asserts, “for that reason, it would be good to have military in the schools”. Bolsonaro has opposed cannabis legalisation, claiming it would “[benefit] traffickers, rapists and hostage takers". He has also claimed that drug use causes people to become gay, in a bizarre homophobic tirade.'
Brazil is the largest cocaine market in South America according to the United Nations Office of Drug Control (UNODC) World Drug Report 2020. The report said that 'In South America, 2.8 million people, or almost 1 per cent of the population aged 15–64, were estimated to be past-year cocaine users in 2018. With nearly 1.5 million past-year cocaine and “crack” cocaine users, Brazil is the largest cocaine market in South America. The use of cocaine base paste, which was previously confined to countries where cocaine is manufactured, has spread to many countries in South America. However, such use is difficult to estimate since people who use cocaine base paste are usually from socially marginalized groups that are not well captured by household surveys.' The cocaine that the elites love and position as the greatest stimulant is a far cry from cannabis in so many ways. Cannabis in its natural form is as good a stimulant as coca, the plant from which cocaine is synthesized. But both natural cannabis and coca that the indigenous communities of Brazil used for thousands of years in the past have been made illegal so that the working classes and the poor cannot access and benefit from them economically, medically or socially. This ensures that the cocaine reaches the elites, and the working classes and poor are forced to be addicted to alcohol, tobacco, synthetic pharmaceutical medicine and dangerous synthetic drugs like methamphetamine and fentanyl. For the authorities, the damage that cocaine use is causing to Brazil appears to be preferable to the safety that legal cannabis offers its people. UNODC reported in its World Drug Report 2020 that 'In Brazil, crack-cocaine use and suicidal behavior are public health problems. A recently large-scale study with a representative sample of Brazilians found rates of suicidal attempts and deaths in the general population of 9.9 and 5.4%, respectively. In crack-cocaine users these rates were significantly higher, 40.0 and 20.8%, respectively. Previous studies have shown that 47% of crack-cocaine users had a current suicide risk, and a prevalence of suicidal behaviors of 30% in crack-cocaine addicts, in Brazil. The subject of suicide has been the focus of studies in psychiatry in the last decades, but the understanding about this behavior remains insufficient. Moreover, the predictive factors in this vulnerable population were not well explored yet. These individuals present multiple psychosocial vulnerabilities, high rates of clinical and psychiatric comorbidities, and low adherence to treatment, which may have a significant impact on suicidal behavior. Furthermore, crack and cocaine are the illicit drugs that most lead to demand for detoxification treatment in psychiatric facilities, generating considerable cost to the public health system.' The cocaine consumption by the elites of Brazil is clearly evident from the contamination that its use is causing the environment. Science Magazine reports that “This is evidence of the increasing danger of cocaine pollution,” says Anna Capaldo, an endocrinologist and expert in environmental pollution at the University of Naples Federico II who did not participate in the research. One concern is that toxicants in the sharks’ livers can hinder production of vitellogenin, which becomes the yolk needed for egg cells. All females in the study were pregnant, although the consequences of cocaine exposure for the fetuses are unknown. Also still unclear is whether the drug affects shark behavior. Cocaine can be toxic to mollusks, crustaceans, and bony fish. Previous laboratory studies have shown environmentally realistic concentrations can cause various signs of damage—DNA fragmentation and cell death, for example—in zebrafish embryos. Tests of eels revealed disruption of important hormones. Only a handful of other studies have tested wild fish for illegal narcotics.' So, the cocaine habit of the elites is harming not just the poor and the working classes of humans, but also all life forms in the vicinity, as is the case with the production, consumption and disposal of all synthetic drugs that emerge from the lab.
Brazil's Supreme Court voted recently to decriminalize cannabis. It was among the last nations in South America to take the step. This was a step not driven by a concern for the well-being of the people but by a need to reduce the massive prison population that was overcrowding Brazilian prisons. AP News reported in June 2024, that 'Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use, making the nation one of Latin America’s last to do so, in a move that could reduce its massive prison population. With final votes cast on Tuesday, a majority of the justices on the 11-person court have voted in favor of decriminalization since deliberations began in 2015. The justices must still determine the maximum quantity of marijuana that would be characterized as being for personal use and when the ruling will enter into effect. That is expected to finish as early as Wednesday. All the justices who have voted in favor said decriminalization should be restricted to possession of marijuana in amounts suitable for personal use. Selling drugs will remain illegal.' From this we can gauge that significant numbers of persons are being targeted in Brazil for the consumption of cannabis. I am certain that most of these imprisoned people belong to the poorer classes or are targeted for other reasons, with cannabis being just an excuse to imprison them. The elites will surely not figure in all this, since they snort cocaine. Even if they consumed cannabis, they will be above the law. The fact that Brazilian lawmakers and law enforcers have taken 9 years to deliberate the move to decriminalize cannabis, and that it is now 8 years after Uruguay legalized cannabis for adult recreational use, shows the hold that the Brazilian ruling classes have over this matter. Decriminalization is a meaningless measure. It fines a person for possession of cannabis beyond a certain quantity. To even possess the minimal quantity that is legal, one must have access to cannabis in the first place. To have access to cannabis, it must be cultivated somewhere and then sold to an individual. When both cultivation and sale is illegal, how will a person come to even possess the quantity of cannabis that is legal according to decriminalization laws? Decriminalization only further increases the harassment of the people by law enforcement through fines. Law enforcement is most likely to zealously pursue imposition of fines on the common man since it is the easiest way to show results and get increasing allocations of the budget. The fact that significant numbers of persons are in Brazilian prisons for cannabis itself shows that Brazilian law enforcers have been using cannabis to bloat their performance figures instead of going after the real criminals who are involved in violent crimes and financial crimes. The real criminals snort cocaine, obviously, and are too powerful to be booked.
Brazilian scientific research on cannabis has been making significant progress despite the illegal status of the herb and the hurdles that scientists face. One of the first pieces of cannabis related news that I heard about Brazil was regarding the arrest of a cannabis researcher during the Bolsonaro days. I come across scientific articles regarding cannabis published by Brazilian researchers increasingly these days. As an example, NORML reported recently that 'Subjects who consume cannabis or cannabis-related products in clinical trials typically experience weight loss, according to a meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Obesity. Brazilian researchers reviewed results from randomized controlled trials involving subjects’ use of cannabis or cannabis-related products. They reported: “In general, cannabis use reduced weight … and WC [waist circumference]. When examining subgroups, longer follow-up periods were associated with a more pronounced BMI [body mass index] reduction.” The study’s authors concluded, “These findings suggest that cannabis and sub-products could be considered adjuncts in obesity treatment by helping to reduce relevant anthropometric measurements.”'
Cannabis for medical use, a phrase that is itself absurd and created mainly to say that the elites use cannabis as a medicine and that everybody else uses it for fun, has been on the rise in Brazil. This is essentially stating that a rich person can get a certificate from another elite - the physician - and buy cannabis from the market, whereas a poor person will go to jail because he or she has not paid the physician money to get the certificate. Brazil is now reported to be South America's biggest medical cannabis market. The fact that cannabis cultivation is illegal in Brazil means that cannabis most be imported from elsewhere, with Uruguay being the most likely legal source due to its proximity. MJBizDaily reports that 'National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approvals to import the products have been growing rapidly in the past year, and although this route is intended to be a special access scheme for exceptional cases, Brazil has become the largest market in Latin America. Nonregistered medical cannabis products, regardless of THC content, can be imported only by individual patients after a doctor and ANVISA have signed off. The health agency does not restrict the products to only CBD, but in practice CBD represents the majority of imports. During the first quarter of 2020, almost 3,000 patients received authorization to import nonregistered products, an increase of 25% over the previous quarter and 123% higher compared to the same period in 2019.' What the Brazilian government should realize is that, in a global scenario where the elites have together decided to keep cannabis illegal and now want to use cannabis albeit saying that their use is as medicine, there is going to be a huge demand for cannabis. Almost the entire European continent and Oceania has an ever-increasing demand for cannabis, as the elites of these places finally find intelligence dawning on them and realize that their preferred poisons - alcohol, tobacco, synthetic pharmaceuticals, methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin - will only kill them while it is only cannabis that can make meaningful impact to public health at all levels of society. The wealthy nations will use their financial clout to try and buy cannabis from the handful of nations that export cannabis for medical use - Uruguay, Canada, Israel, Denmark, the Netherlands, etc. The demand is so high and the supply so low that even one of the wealthiest nations in the world and Europe's largest importer of medical cannabis, Germany, was forced to declare in April 2024 that it was legalizing cannabis for recreational use. It is primarily the shortage of supply of cannabis that led Germany to allow home growing of up to three cannabis plants and collective growing of cannabis by clubs of up to 100 members. This is really not going to help Germany that much with its demand because the climatic conditions in most European nations are not conducive to growing cannabis at the scales needed to meet the needs of the people, especially the poorer sections of society. For Brazil, the obvious thing to do would be to legalize cannabis for all purposes, so that local farmers can cultivate cannabis at large scales. Only then will cannabis be available to the entire population, especially the working classes and the most vulnerable poorer sections of society and indigenous communities. The climatic conditions of Brazil will not only enable it to produce sufficient cannabis to meet the country's own internal needs but there may be even enough cannabis for export to other nations, thus resulting in an overall benefit to the economy. The current model is not working as is obvious from the fact that only a few people get access to medical cannabis while most people have to rely on the black market to source their cannabis. A report by Folha De Sao Paulo says 'Since 2015, Brazil has allowed the import of medical cannabis for the compassionate use of patients refractory to conventional treatment. According to Anvisa, 7,800 Brazilians are authorized to import it. The number of patients, however, is much higher. On the agency's list are only those with economic conditions to pay for treatment in dollars. Those who don't have the economic conditions, seek the drug in the parallel market, without quality assurance, or in patient associations.'
Currently Brazil appears to get its supply of illegal cannabis from neighboring Paraguay. UNODC reported in 2020 that 'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt.'
The benefits to the Brazilian economy that comes from legalizing cannabis completely are numerous. For one, it will remove the dependency on imports of medical cannabis. Two, it will ensure that the poorest sections of society - the traditional users of cannabis before it was prohibited - have access to it. Three, given Brazil's climatic conditions suitable for cannabis cultivation, there is likely to be sufficient produce to export to other nations. Good quality cannabis grown in Brazil can supplement the incomes that the country gets from its coffee production, incomes that have been dropping in recent times due to the challenges facing the Brazilian coffee industry. Cannabis will spawn a number of industries - an additional cash crop for the farmers, cannabis retail, tourism, medicine, job creation, tourism, business, research, and so on. As important as all these, cannabis cultivation and use will enable many sustainable industries - like textiles and fabrics, construction, biofuels, paper and packaging, biodegradable plastics, footwear, food and beverages, wellness, etc. - to thrive and heal the land that is currently being destroyed at a great pace by the petrochemical, synthetic pharmaceutical, mining, construction and other harmful industries. Cannabis will vastly improve public health, thus indirectly boosting the economy through reduced medical bills. The reduction in the use of alcohol, tobacco, synthetic pharmaceuticals, methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and other opioids, etc., will vastly improve public health besides reducing the damage to the environment that the production, consumption and disposal of these harmful products cause. The US, with only 24 out of 50 states having legalized cannabis for adult use, already has a $100 billion+ cannabis industry footprint, with the cannabis industry being one of the largest employers in the recent past. The US Farm Bill 2018 which legalized cultivation of hemp at the federal level, is making significant impact in the areas of food and nutrition, animal feed, clothing and other hemp-based products. It is quite obvious that a country like Brazil which grapples with poverty, environmental destruction, public health issues, etc., will benefit much more with complete cannabis legalization. One of the primary reasons why Canada legalized cannabis for adult use in 2018 was to shrink the black market for it and to reduce the revenue losses to the economy that resulted from money flowing into the black market and the hands of criminals. Within two years of legalization, the legal cannabis market overtook the black market. Not only that, Canada is now one of the world's largest exporters of cannabis to other nations, despite being a country where cannabis cultivation is difficult due to the cold weather conditions. Canada outsources its cultivation to nations like Uruguay but this is not something that Brazil will need to do. Rio Times Online reported in 2020 that 'The Uruguayan government decided to increase the percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component in marijuana for recreational purposes, sold in the country's pharmacies since 2017 and is considering modifying regulations to allow its access to tourists. On Monday (30) the Secretary General of Uruguay's National Drug Board (JND) Daniel RadÃo said that, although he does not believe that it could be implemented in the current tourist season, studies are underway to modify regulations to later allow tourists access to cannabis, which could represent a tourist attraction in the future.' With legal cannabis available in Brazil, it will only further enhance the tourism industry locally. The Rio Carnival is one of the most famous events in the world. Legalized cannabis at the festival will provide a tremendous boost to tourism. Many activists have been advocating for more relaxed cannabis regulations at the event. The Hindu reported a few years back that “'At the “Carmelitas” block party in Rio’s bohemian Santa Teresa neighbourhood, revellers dressed up as nuns, with many carrying signs insulting politicians who oppose marijuana legalisation. “The lord says you will try all the herbs that came from the seeds,” read one banner.' US states such as California have already included cannabis as a part of the prestigious annual State Fair with stalls where farmers and entrepreneurs exhibit their produce. Visitors are allowed to smoke cannabis at the Fair according to the same regulations that govern tobacco smoking.
It is about time that Brazil legalized cannabis for recreational use, researched and documented its indigenous varieties of cannabis and worked with the local tribal communities and poor farmers to revive this iconic plant of nature. Its widespread agriculture will provide the much-needed sustainable raw material for paper, construction, fabrics, etc without having to cut down trees and grow unsustainable crops needing excess water. Its medicinal and recreational properties will provide a much more effective, natural way to heal the people than the synthetic chemical drugs and alcohol that is being offered to them at present. Cultivation of Brazilian varieties of cannabis can probably be a boost to export and trade, the economy,. Cannabis could play a significant role in connecting Brazil back to nature, reviving the Amazon region and providing the right balance between sustainable growth and protecting the traditions, culture and ecology of Brazil. One of its South American neighbors, Uruguay, has already taken the steps in the right direction and shows the way. Mexico has been on the verge of legalization for some time now but like most South American countries the drug cartels have their say in the matter as much as the politicians that they work hand in hand with.
It is about time that Brazil legalized cannabis for recreational use, researched and documented its indigenous varieties of cannabis and worked with the local tribal communities and poor farmers to revive this iconic plant of nature. Its widespread agriculture will provide the much-needed sustainable raw material for paper, construction, fabrics, etc without having to cut down trees and grow unsustainable crops needing excess water. Its medicinal and recreational properties will provide a much more effective, natural way to heal the people than the synthetic chemical drugs and alcohol that is being offered to them at present. Cultivation of Brazilian varieties of cannabis can probably be a boost to export and trade, the economy,. Cannabis could play a significant role in connecting Brazil back to nature, reviving the Amazon region and providing the right balance between sustainable growth and protecting the traditions, culture and ecology of Brazil. One of its South American neighbors, Uruguay, has already taken the steps in the right direction and shows the way. Mexico has been on the verge of legalization for some time now but like most South American countries the drug cartels have their say in the matter as much as the politicians that they work hand in hand with.
Due to the romance of Bolsonaro with the other Covid-19 conspirators, Brazil was one of the nations where these criminals had maximum impact, like in India, the US and China. Because of the support from the leader, pharma companies were able to flood the market with their dangerous synthetic medicines which were indiscriminately administered to the people. This misuse and abuse of synthetic pharmaceutical medicines in the name of the fake pandemic resulted in a huge number of deaths in Brazil, deaths that were conveniently attributed to the fake disease, even as the conspirators widened the gap between the rich and the poor and laughed all the way to the bank. Brazil's president Bolsonaro even tried to position a dangerous synthetic pharmaceutical medication, chloroquine, as a cure for the fake disease Covid and used his clout to disparage critics. Science Magazine reported that 'When the trial’s independent data safety monitoring team saw the number of deaths in the high-dose group rise rapidly, they alerted the researchers and asked for that arm to be stopped. Of 81 patients enrolled at the time, seven in the high-dose group had died, versus four in the low-dose group. By the times the results were published, those numbers had risen to 16 and six, respectively. Two patients from the high-dose group developed dangerous cardiac arrhythmias before death, a known side effect from chloroquine, and warning signs for future heart trouble were more common in the high-dose group. An 11 April preprint about the results was covered by international media outlets, including The New York Times. On 14 April, Michael James Coudrey, CEO of a U.S. marketing company whose website says he offers “social media and ‘digital information warfare’ services to political candidates,” tweeted accusations that the researchers had overdosed their patients and used them as “guinea pigs” in a study conducted “so irresponsibility I can’t even believe it.” Three days later, Eduardo Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president’s son, tweeted out a similar message, including an article that called the researchers “left-wing medical activists” and included their past social media posts in support of certain political candidates and sporting rainbow flag profile frames as proof. The article framed the study, which was later published in JAMA Network Open, as an attempt to “disparage the drug that the Bolsonaro government approved as effective for treating COVID-19.” Soon, death threats against the researchers and their families started to come in.' This assault on the people and the environment by the elites has shaken many into realizing that cannabis offers a way out of the crisis. Hemp Industry Daily reports that 'Sponsors say that opening up Brazil for the cultivation and production of cannabis-derived products on the medical and industrial spaces represents a major opportunity for the country at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a global economic downturn. Brazil is second only to the United States in the severity of its outbreak, recording more than 3.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 110,000 deaths. “We have a potential 210 million consumers,” Ducci told the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo. “There are companies that are waiting for the law in order to enter Brazil, and we can bring income to Brazil in the post-pandemic era.”' Unfortunately, most people fail to recognize who the enemy is in this case and the extent to which it will go to keep cannabis prohibited. In September 2020, just before the fake pandemic brought the world to its knees, Hemp Industry Daily reported that 'The endeavor to revise Brazil’s cannabis laws began in 2015 with a proposed law that focused on the commercialization of cannabis-based drugs. Last month, Deputy Paulo Teixeira submitted a new version of the bill to the head of the lower chamber. The replacement text expands the so-called legislative project by proposing that the cultivation, processing, research, storage, transportation, production, industrialization, commercialization, import and export of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp be allowed in Brazil.' This piece of news, by itself, would have served as a catalyst for the industries opposed to cannabis to push ahead with their fake pandemic which hit the ground in December 2020. This piece of news itself can explain why the autocratic Bolsonaro was such an ardent embracer of the fake pandemic along with Xi, Modi, Trump, Johnson and Putin. Hemp Industry Daily reported in another article that 'South America’s largest economy took another step toward legalizaing cannabis cultivation on Tuesday when parents, clergy members, physicians, growers and regulators logged online to attend a public hearing on a draft law that would legalize the cultivation of cannabis in Brazil. The technical meeting was organized by the lower house’s special commission for the regulation of medicinal cannabis. The bill, submitted to Chamber of Deputies President Rodrigo Maia last month, would allow Brazilian farmers to grow cannabis for medical and industrial purposes on domestic soil for the first time.' MJBizDaily reported, at around the same time, that 'The current high price of imported medical cannabis has been one of the main arguments in favor of the cultivation bill: Proponents say domestic growers would be able to supply the medicine at a lower cost.' As public pressure mounted on the legislature to legalize cannabis, it was important for the conspirators to create a distraction and take the attention of the people away from cannabis legalization. And that the fake pandemic Covid did. It stalled cannabis legalization initiatives in most nations across the world as governments put their people in chains and stuffed them with fear and synthetic pharmaceutical medications.
Brazil was one of the countries in the world with the highest cannabis seizures in 2018, according to the UNODC World Drug Report 2020. Taking out natural forms of recreation from society, with proven histories of thousands of years of recreational and social usage, and replacing them with synthetic harmful drugs and the deadly but freely available legal alcohol, pharmaceutical drugs and tobacco is something that only politicians and their buddies in big business can dream up. The health of people and the environment come second to the goal of making big money. In the middle of all this, cannabis lives an increasingly precarious existence, much like the Amazon, ayahuasca and the shaman. How many indigenous cannabis varieties have gone extinct is a matter of speculation.
The current Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva appears to be more intelligent than Jair Bolsonaro, but whether he is a chip off the old block of elite imbeciles who keep cannabis prohibited and harm the entire nation as Bolsonaro did, remains to be seen. Lula's decisions in the coming future will determine where he fits into the picture - whether as a leader of the people or a puppet of the global forces opposed to cannabis. In December 2020, the UN voted to remove cannabis from its most
restricted Schedule IV category of the 1961 Single Convention on
Narcotic Drugs. It does however still remain in Schedule I, which is the
least restrictive. This one move by the UN itself should be sufficient
to bring about the recreational legalization of cannabis in every nation
and an overhaul of national drug laws. It
must be noted that in most places where cannabis legalization has
happened it took the efforts of the people who mobilized themselves
through grassroots level movements to bring about this change. Left to
lawmakers legalization would have been impossible, as the main interests
of lawmakers concern the protection of the big industries opposed to
cannabis such as pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, medical, alcohol and tobacco.
For something that truly benefits the people, the people themselves have
had to make the change. The steps being currently taken with regard to cannabis, the extent of cocaine usage and the way that Brazil approached the fake pandemic Covid, all indicate that there is a clear demarcation between the elites and the rest of society in Brazil. Currently, it is the elites who dictate what cannabis policy should be, and this policy is only aligned to benefit themselves as a class. Brazil has been a vocal proponent of taxing the rich so as to reduce the wealth and income gap between the rich and the poor that has only further widened in recent times with the consolidation of the power of the elites. If Brazil is sincere about bringing in a more equitable world, then cannabis legalization globally, and specifically in Brazil, is one of the key steps to achieve this. With complete legalization of cannabis for all purposes, the poor in Brazil can get access to affordable healthcare and nutrition and find a means of sustainable livelihood that ensures their well-being and the well-being of the natural world...It is not just the poor of Brazil that will benefit, but the entire natural world including birds, insects, animals and plants...
Related articles
Listed below are articles taken from various media related to the above subject. Words in italics are the thoughts of your truly at the time of reading the article.
“This is evidence of the increasing danger of cocaine pollution,” says Anna Capaldo, an endocrinologist and expert in environmental pollution at the University of Naples Federico II who did not participate in the research.
One concern is that toxicants in the sharks’ livers can hinder production of vitellogenin, which becomes the yolk needed for egg cells. All females in the study were pregnant, although the consequences of cocaine exposure for the fetuses are unknown. Also still unclear is whether the drug affects shark behavior.
Cocaine can be toxic to mollusks, crustaceans, and bony fish. Previous laboratory studies have shown environmentally realistic concentrations can cause various signs of damage—DNA fragmentation and cell death, for example—in zebrafish embryos. Tests of eels revealed disruption of important hormones. Only a handful of other studies have tested wild fish for illegal narcotics.
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use, making the nation one of Latin America’s last to do so, in a move that could reduce its massive prison population.
With final votes cast on Tuesday, a majority of the justices on the 11-person court have voted in favor of decriminalization since deliberations began in 2015.
The justices must still determine the maximum quantity of marijuana that would be characterized as being for personal use and when the ruling will enter into effect. That is expected to finish as early as Wednesday.
All the justices who have voted in favor said decriminalization should be restricted to possession of marijuana in amounts suitable for personal use. Selling drugs will remain illegal.
Subjects who consume cannabis or cannabis-related products in clinical trials typically experience weight loss, according to a meta-analysis published in the International Journal of Obesity.
Brazilian researchers reviewed results from randomized controlled trials involving subjects’ use of cannabis or cannabis-related products.
They reported: “In general, cannabis use reduced weight … and WC [waist circumference]. When examining subgroups, longer follow-up periods were associated with a more pronounced BMI [body mass index] reduction.”
The study’s authors concluded, “These findings suggest that cannabis and sub-products could be considered adjuncts in obesity treatment by helping to reduce relevant anthropometric measurements.”
'National Sanitary Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) approvals to import the products have been growing rapidly in the past year, and although this route is intended to be a special access scheme for exceptional cases, Brazil has become the largest market in Latin America.
Nonregistered medical cannabis products, regardless of THC content, can be imported only by individual patients after a doctor and ANVISA have signed off.
The health agency does not restrict the products to only CBD, but in practice CBD represents the majority of imports.
During the first quarter of 2020, almost 3,000 patients received authorization to import nonregistered products, an increase of 25% over the previous quarter and 123% higher compared to the same period in 2019.'
'Since 2015, Brazil has allowed the import of medical cannabis for the compassionate use of patients refractory to conventional treatment. According to Anvisa, 7,800 Brazilians are authorized to import it.
The number of patients, however, is much higher. On the agency's list are only those with economic conditions to pay for treatment in dollars. Those who don't have the economic conditions, seek the drug in the parallel market, without quality assurance, or in patient associations.'
'Sponsors say that opening up Brazil for the cultivation and production of cannabis-derived products on the medical and industrial spaces represents a major opportunity for the country at a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has triggered a global economic downturn.
Brazil is second only to the United States in the severity of its outbreak, recording more than 3.5 million coronavirus cases and more than 110,000 deaths.
“We have a potential 210 million consumers,” Ducci told the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
“There are companies that are waiting for the law in order to enter Brazil, and we can bring income to Brazil in the post-pandemic era.”'
'The endeavor to revise Brazil’s cannabis laws began in 2015 with a proposed law that focused on the commercialization of cannabis-based drugs.
Last month, Deputy Paulo Teixeira submitted a new version of the bill to the head of the lower chamber.
The replacement text expands the so-called legislative project by proposing that the cultivation, processing, research, storage, transportation, production, industrialization, commercialization, import and export of medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp be allowed in Brazil.'
'South America’s largest economy took another step toward legalizaing cannabis cultivation on Tuesday when parents, clergy members, physicians, growers and regulators logged online to attend a public hearing on a draft law that would legalize the cultivation of cannabis in Brazil.
The technical meeting was organized by the lower house’s special commission for the regulation of medicinal cannabis.
The bill, submitted to Chamber of Deputies President Rodrigo Maia last month, would allow Brazilian farmers to grow cannabis for medical and industrial purposes on domestic soil for the first time.'
'The current high price of imported medical cannabis has been one of the main arguments in favor of the cultivation bill: Proponents say domestic growers would be able to supply the medicine at a lower cost.'
'The Uruguayan government decided to increase the percentage of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive component in marijuana for recreational purposes, sold in the country's pharmacies since 2017 and is considering modifying regulations to allow its access to tourists.
On Monday (30) the Secretary General of Uruguay's National Drug Board (JND) Daniel RadÃo said that, although he does not believe that it could be implemented in the current tourist season, studies are underway to modify regulations to later allow tourists access to cannabis, which could represent a tourist attraction in the future.'
'In South America, 2.8 million people, or almost 1 per cent of the
population aged 15–64, were estimated to be past-year cocaine users in
2018. With nearly 1.5 million past-year cocaine and “crack” cocaine
users, Brazil is the largest cocaine market in South America. The use of
cocaine base paste, which was previously confined to countries where
cocaine is manufactured, has spread to many countries in South America.
However, such use is difficult to estimate since people who use cocaine
base paste are usually from socially marginalized groups that are not
well captured by household surveys.' - United Nations Office on Drugs
and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_2.pdf
'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
'In 2018, the largest quantities of cannabis herb seized worldwide continued to be those reported by Paraguay, followed by the United States and India. Cannabis herb produced in Paraguay is reported to have been mainly destined for neighbouring Brazil (77 per cent) and Argentina (20 per cent). Over the period 2008–2018, the largest cannabis herb seizures worldwide took place in the United States, followed by Mexico, Paraguay, Colombia, Nigeria, Morocco, Brazil, India and Egypt' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_Booklet_3.pdf
Pharmaceuticalizing the plant...
https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/life-brazil/anvisa-approves-first-marijuana-based-product-in-brazil/
Just legalize recreational use Brazil..instead of beating around the bush...
'Brazil’s medical cannabis market has drawn keen attention for its potential, but regulatory hurdles under the new rules are high.
Companies unable to comply with the quality requirements to obtain a sanitary authorization might still sell medical cannabis in Brazil as “unregistered products,” a category for which entry barriers are much lower.
But this comes with disadvantages.
Unlike products with sanitary authorization, unregistered products cannot be imported in bulk or distributed to Brazilian pharmacies.
They can be imported only on a case-by-case basis for patients who obtained a special individual authorization from Brazil’s health agency.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/brazilian-quality-requirements-hinder-companies-seeking-to-register-medical-cannabis-products/
'In Brazil, crack-cocaine use and suicidal behavior are public health problems. A recently large-scale study with a representative sample of Brazilians found rates of suicidal attempts and deaths in the general population of 9.9 and 5.4%, respectively. In crack-cocaine users these rates were significantly higher, 40.0 and 20.8%, respectively. Previous studies have shown that 47% of crack-cocaine users had a current suicide risk, and a prevalence of suicidal behaviors of 30% in crack-cocaine addicts, in Brazil. The subject of suicide has been the focus of studies in psychiatry in the last decades, but the understanding about this behavior remains insufficient. Moreover, the predictive factors in this vulnerable population were not well explored yet. These individuals present multiple psychosocial vulnerabilities, high rates of clinical and psychiatric comorbidities, and low adherence to treatment, which may have a significant impact on suicidal behavior. Furthermore, crack and cocaine are the illicit drugs that most lead to demand for detoxification treatment in psychiatric facilities, generating considerable cost to the public health system.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7197800/
The most interesting statistic for me to look back at from this period will be the number of persons who died as a result of inappropriate usage of pharmaceutical drugs ...I'm not expecting to come across it though...
'When the trial’s independent data safety monitoring team saw the number of deaths in the high-dose group rise rapidly, they alerted the researchers and asked for that arm to be stopped. Of 81 patients enrolled at the time, seven in the high-dose group had died, versus four in the low-dose group. By the times the results were published, those numbers had risen to 16 and six, respectively. Two patients from the high-dose group developed dangerous cardiac arrhythmias before death, a known side effect from chloroquine, and warning signs for future heart trouble were more common in the high-dose group. An 11 April preprint about the results was covered by international media outlets, including The New York Times.
On 14 April, Michael James Coudrey, CEO of a U.S. marketing company whose website says he offers “social media and ‘digital information warfare’ services to political candidates,” tweeted accusations that the researchers had overdosed their patients and used them as “guinea pigs” in a study conducted “so irresponsibility I can’t even believe it.” Three days later, Eduardo Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president’s son, tweeted out a similar message, including an article that called the researchers “left-wing medical activists” and included their past social media posts in support of certain political candidates and sporting rainbow flag profile frames as proof. The article framed the study, which was later published in JAMA Network Open, as an attempt to “disparage the drug that the Bolsonaro government approved as effective for treating COVID-19.” Soon, death threats against the researchers and their families started to come in'
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/it-s-nightmare-how-brazilian-scientists-became-ensnared-chloroquine-politics
Updated Jun 25, 2020, 12:20 PM
'The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was once a major departure point but declined in importance as a result of political volatility. Brazil remains a major transit country and may even have to play an increasing role, and Uruguay appears to be growing in importance. In late 2019, the authorities of Uruguay seized more than 9 tons of cocaine destined for West Africa in two separate shipment' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
Afghanistan and Mexico source the heroin and morphine. Mexico, Thailand, Myanmar and China source the methamphetamine. The Middle East and Eastern Europe sources the amphetamine. The US consumes heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Europe consumes heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. Asia consumes heroin, morphine and methamphetamine. Australia consumes methamphetamine. The Middle East consumes heroin and amphetamine. West Asia consumes heroin and methamphetamine. All countries grow and consume cannabis. Opioids, methamphetamine and amphetamines kill the most in terms of drug deaths, cannabis kills none. Who are the leading opponents to cannabis legalization and leading enforcers of global anti-cannabis policy? The countries involved the most in heroin, morphine, amphetamines and methamphetamines. They put on a mask of concern about harms from drugs, produce, sell and consume the most dangerous synthetic drugs and vehemently oppose cannabis legalization worldwide while clandestinely feeding their habits and protecting their sources. They use arms and armies to protect and promote their synthetic drug habits, and drug money to fund and wage a war on cannabis everywhere, pushing man and planet ever closer to death on massive scales and away from the safe, healing cannabis herb...
Jul 10, 2020, 1:14 PM
https://riotimesonline.com/brazil-news/brazil/life-brazil/anvisa-approves-first-marijuana-based-product-in-brazil/
Just legalize recreational use Brazil..instead of beating around the bush...
'Brazil’s medical cannabis market has drawn keen attention for its potential, but regulatory hurdles under the new rules are high.
Companies unable to comply with the quality requirements to obtain a sanitary authorization might still sell medical cannabis in Brazil as “unregistered products,” a category for which entry barriers are much lower.
But this comes with disadvantages.
Unlike products with sanitary authorization, unregistered products cannot be imported in bulk or distributed to Brazilian pharmacies.
They can be imported only on a case-by-case basis for patients who obtained a special individual authorization from Brazil’s health agency.'
https://mjbizdaily.com/brazilian-quality-requirements-hinder-companies-seeking-to-register-medical-cannabis-products/
'In Brazil, crack-cocaine use and suicidal behavior are public health problems. A recently large-scale study with a representative sample of Brazilians found rates of suicidal attempts and deaths in the general population of 9.9 and 5.4%, respectively. In crack-cocaine users these rates were significantly higher, 40.0 and 20.8%, respectively. Previous studies have shown that 47% of crack-cocaine users had a current suicide risk, and a prevalence of suicidal behaviors of 30% in crack-cocaine addicts, in Brazil. The subject of suicide has been the focus of studies in psychiatry in the last decades, but the understanding about this behavior remains insufficient. Moreover, the predictive factors in this vulnerable population were not well explored yet. These individuals present multiple psychosocial vulnerabilities, high rates of clinical and psychiatric comorbidities, and low adherence to treatment, which may have a significant impact on suicidal behavior. Furthermore, crack and cocaine are the illicit drugs that most lead to demand for detoxification treatment in psychiatric facilities, generating considerable cost to the public health system.'
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7197800/
The most interesting statistic for me to look back at from this period will be the number of persons who died as a result of inappropriate usage of pharmaceutical drugs ...I'm not expecting to come across it though...
'When the trial’s independent data safety monitoring team saw the number of deaths in the high-dose group rise rapidly, they alerted the researchers and asked for that arm to be stopped. Of 81 patients enrolled at the time, seven in the high-dose group had died, versus four in the low-dose group. By the times the results were published, those numbers had risen to 16 and six, respectively. Two patients from the high-dose group developed dangerous cardiac arrhythmias before death, a known side effect from chloroquine, and warning signs for future heart trouble were more common in the high-dose group. An 11 April preprint about the results was covered by international media outlets, including The New York Times.
On 14 April, Michael James Coudrey, CEO of a U.S. marketing company whose website says he offers “social media and ‘digital information warfare’ services to political candidates,” tweeted accusations that the researchers had overdosed their patients and used them as “guinea pigs” in a study conducted “so irresponsibility I can’t even believe it.” Three days later, Eduardo Bolsonaro, the Brazilian president’s son, tweeted out a similar message, including an article that called the researchers “left-wing medical activists” and included their past social media posts in support of certain political candidates and sporting rainbow flag profile frames as proof. The article framed the study, which was later published in JAMA Network Open, as an attempt to “disparage the drug that the Bolsonaro government approved as effective for treating COVID-19.” Soon, death threats against the researchers and their families started to come in'
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/it-s-nightmare-how-brazilian-scientists-became-ensnared-chloroquine-politics
Updated Jun 25, 2020, 12:20 PM
'The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was once a major departure point but declined in importance as a result of political volatility. Brazil remains a major transit country and may even have to play an increasing role, and Uruguay appears to be growing in importance. In late 2019, the authorities of Uruguay seized more than 9 tons of cocaine destined for West Africa in two separate shipment' - United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020, https://wdr.unodc.org/wdr2020/field/WDR20_BOOKLET_1.pdf
Afghanistan and Mexico source the heroin and morphine. Mexico, Thailand, Myanmar and China source the methamphetamine. The Middle East and Eastern Europe sources the amphetamine. The US consumes heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine. Europe consumes heroin, morphine, methamphetamine and amphetamine. Asia consumes heroin, morphine and methamphetamine. Australia consumes methamphetamine. The Middle East consumes heroin and amphetamine. West Asia consumes heroin and methamphetamine. All countries grow and consume cannabis. Opioids, methamphetamine and amphetamines kill the most in terms of drug deaths, cannabis kills none. Who are the leading opponents to cannabis legalization and leading enforcers of global anti-cannabis policy? The countries involved the most in heroin, morphine, amphetamines and methamphetamines. They put on a mask of concern about harms from drugs, produce, sell and consume the most dangerous synthetic drugs and vehemently oppose cannabis legalization worldwide while clandestinely feeding their habits and protecting their sources. They use arms and armies to protect and promote their synthetic drug habits, and drug money to fund and wage a war on cannabis everywhere, pushing man and planet ever closer to death on massive scales and away from the safe, healing cannabis herb...
Jul 10, 2020, 1:14 PM
'In our view, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s stance on the country’s addiction problems is too simplistic to counter the scale of the challenge. A national survey indicates that 1.3 million citizens were addicted to marijuana and 2.6 million were using crack cocaine last year (see go.nature.com/2qbhqks).
Bolsonaro has declared he will strengthen efforts against drug-trading organizations and to penalize them for any increases in drug-related violence. We are concerned that this merely reiterates the old ‘War on Drugs’ policy — namely, heavy repression of drug trafficking, punishment for users, racial discrimination, mass incarceration and limited access to treatment (see, for example, K. S. Fornili J. Addict. Nurs. 29, 65–72; 2018). The evidence against the efficacy of this outdated approach is compelling (see, for example, go.nature.com/2d7cqmr).
What is needed now is urgent reform of Brazil’s public-health system and new funding policies that will improve the structural and human resources necessary to tackle this nationwide problem.'
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00154-5
'He draws his inspiration from President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, whose hard-line approach has led to over 12,000 deaths of people for alleged involvement with drugs. Bolsonaro has said that Duterte “did the right thing for his country”.
Currently, the Brazilian military is involved in targeting drug cartels, but Bolsonaro wants to further integrate soldiers’ role into drug law enforcement; “in the streets, in the schools even, the bandidos [bandits] sell drugs and smoke marijuana openly” he asserts, “for that reason, it would be good to have military in the schools”.
Bolsonaro has opposed cannabis legalisation, claiming it would “[benefit] traffickers, rapists and hostage takers". He has also claimed that drug use causes people to become gay, in a bizarre homophobic tirade.'
https://www.talkingdrugs.org/drug-policies-brazil-haddad-bolsonaro
“I have fought for decades to show that marijuana is a serious plant,” says Carlini. “Dozens of countries have already regulated medical marijuana. The current legislation is a shame to Brazilian science and to Brazil.”
'At the “Carmelitas” block party in Rio’s bohemian Santa Teresa neighbourhood, revellers dressed up as nuns, with many carrying signs insulting politicians who oppose marijuana legalisation.
“The lord says you will try all the herbs that came from the seeds,” read one banner.'
https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/after-stuttering-start-rio-carnival-regains-its-spirit/article17370175.ece
'A key Senate committee in Brazil approved a bill to allow the use and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes on Wednesday.
The measure, which was brought about in response to an online citizen-led petition that received about 119,000 votes, would remove criminal penalties for growing, possessing and consuming cannabis for patients who receive prescriptions from doctors.
The Senate’s Social Affairs Committee signed off on the legislation, but before the full Senate gets to vote, it will also have to pass in the Commission on Constitution and Justice. Then, if the Senate does approve the bill, it must be reviewed by the Chamber of Deputies.
Of course, even if the bill does make its way past all legislative hurdles, it could face another hurdle: Brazil’s president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, who is against legalization and has pledged to enforce harsh anti-drug laws.'
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/brazilian-lawmakers-approve-medical-marijuana-bill/
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