Opinion – Cannabis Inc.: OAB creates the first Medicinal Cannabis Commission

The OAB (Ordem dos Advogados do Brasil) created its first cannabis Medicinal. It was an act without much fanfare – so much so that the decision of the ordinance is dated January 20 and has only now been released –, which does not detract from the importance of the decision. It opens space for discussions, courses and information on a topic still little known by most lawyers. In Brazil, marijuana is still better known for criminal matters than for health-related cases. The initiative came from the OAB subsection of Paranoá and Itapoã, in the Federal District.

In the last seven years, patients from cannabis medicine gained rights and treatment opportunities. But there is still a long way to go. The drug is not accessible to everyone, nor is it easy to acquire. On the contrary, it depends on a bureaucratic import process and without constant delivery deadlines. Not to mention the cases of patients who depend on habeas corpus to plant and extract the medicinal oil.

“Our purpose is to give vent to the fundamental right to life and health, both provided for in the Federal Constitution, in the face of the numerous cases in which their use is necessary to establish a minimum of dignity for the needy and their family”, says the president of the subsection of the OAB, Diego Araujo. “As we aim to defend human rights, there is nothing fairer than making this commitment before the legal system.” The creation of the commission is the result of a long work, which bore its first fruit in 2019. “On that date, the entity supported the regulation of medicinal cultivation”, says lawyer Rodrigo Mesquita, president of the new commission, a very active professional behind the scenes. for the approval of PL 399-2015, for the regulation of the cultivation and trade of cannabis medicinal. Below, an exclusive interview with Mesquita, who reports the backstage of the OAB getting here.

What is the importance of the OAB having a commission of cannabis?
Rodrigo Mesquita: The commission has the importance of making the debate on the topic more concrete and closer to the day-to-day of lawyers, which the OAB Nacional itself has been doing for some time. When, in 2019, the National Bar Association unanimously approved a proposal to support the regulation of the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes, it was a very happy moment for me, because the proposal presented by Counselor Alex Sarkis came from an opinion that I prepared for the Regulatory Affairs Committee. Since then, we have held two very prestigious events – a Seminar on cannabis Medicinal, which discussed law and health, and another on the challenges of PL 399-2015. However, it was necessary to institutionalize and make this discussion stop being distant. After the elections last year, the president-elect of the Subsection of Paranoá and Itapoã Diego Araújo asked me about the subject and I presented the proposal to create the commission, which was accepted.

What doors can this commission open?
R.M.: From an institutional point of view, I believe that this initiative can inspire other subsections and sectionals to also create their commissions. From a corporate point of view, my intention is to bring lawyers, especially those who are starting their careers, the prospect of working in a new exciting economic sector that is growing rapidly, but which still lacks qualified professionals.

Lack of engagement in issues related to the right of cannabis? Is this still taboo among lawyers and judges?
R.M.: There is a lot of engagement in this sector. In fact, lawyers had and still have a central role in the construction of the regulatory regime of the cannabis medicine in Brazil, which resulted in the judicialization of requests made by these professionals in favor of patients, working alongside doctors, political activists, academics, also counting on the partnership of institutions of the justice system such as the Public Defender’s Office and the Public Ministry. It was not an easy journey, the opponents are well known, but the allies were also many. These demands ended up being accepted by the Judiciary, by magistrates who had the empathy and understanding of the evolution of the law necessary to make the social demand advance and be recognized by the institutions. So much so that Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) came in tow in this process. But there is no doubt that there is still resistance. Today, the Superior Court of Justice is threatening the hundreds of safe-conducts issued in habeas corpus by desperate people, who put themselves at risk of cultivating their own plants due to the State’s failure to regulate a right, which is in the law and in the treaties to which Brazil is a party. The court has confused administrative license for cultivation with a request for removal from the criminal repercussions of the conduct. Therefore, habeas corpus has been denied to people who only have some quality of life with the use of products derived from the plants they cultivate.

What are the initiatives that the commission intends to take to change the national scenario in relation to cannabis medicinal?
R.M.: As it is located in the Federal District, the commission has the opportunity and responsibility to influence political processes in the country’s capital, notably in the National Congress and Anvisa. In addition, the Federal District itself has legislation on the supply of cannabis by the public health system, on the promotion of research in the area in universities such as UnB (University of Brasília). The community itself, from the administrative regions of Paranoá and Itapoã, will be the recipient of the commission’s actions, precisely for the grassroots debates, for which we are already putting together a calendar with national and foreign authorities to train lawyers to work in the sector. The production of technical notes for the legislative proposals in progress in the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District and in the National Congress are in progress. We will work to build a network of commissions in OABs in all states.