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Friday, 3 May 2019

Cannabis and Brazil

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 Janiero 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 ranks second in the world in terms of Covid fatalities, which is, in reality, a direct indicator of the extent of pharmaceutical and synthetic drug abuse among its population. It is also the largest cocaine market in South America according to the UNODC World Drug Report 2020.

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. Recently a cannabis researcher with decades of research work on the plant was in the news because he had been arrested for his association with the plant.  Even more recently, a right wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, has been elected. On taking charge, he promptly stepped up the war on drugs, the very same war that all nations have failed at, including Brazil's role model country the USA and Bolsanaro's inspiration, Rodrigo Duterte's Philippines. The most likely victims of this war on drugs are the poorest of the poor, small farmers, persons from the indigenous tribal communities, etc. These persons are likely filling up jails while cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin flow through Brazil's veins. The ruling elites fascination with petrochemicals and pharmaceuticals, two of the biggest opponents to cannabis, is pushing cannabis and the people into a corner. 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. 

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, job creation, tourism, business and research. 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 appears on the verge of legalization in 2021.

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.

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.   


'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 
 

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


'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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