A study by Portal Cannabis & Saúde shows a 342.3% growth in sales of cannabis products cannabis in pharmacies in Brazil since 2018. Since the first product entered the market until today, revenues have increased significantly: from 2021 to 2022 alone, the increase was 156.1%, displacing 77,008 BRL596.00.
Prescriptions have increased by 487.8% over the past year. The number of doctors who prescribe products based on cannabidiol to buy in pharmacies increased from 6.3 thousand in 2021 to 15.4 thousand last year, an increase of 146%.
Of all the medical specialties that prescribe cannabidiol, neurologists are 33%; psychiatrists, 26%; geriatricians, 8%; pediatricians, 7%; general practitioners, 5% and orthopaedists, 3%. “Essentially, these specialties represent more than 80% of the importance of prescriptive volume in this market”, specifies the study.
Medicine
For the general practitioner with international certification in endocannabinoid medicine by WeCann Academy (2021), Tércio Sousa, the numbers indicate the veracity of the information that the cannabis It is Today essential in medicine.
“It is a path of no return. Doctors who only treat with allopathy often fail in the treatment and then they start losing the patient to those who use the cannabis. Most patients who Today seek treatment with cannabis these are people who have been fighting, for example, the pain, spasms and tremors of Parkinson’s disease for a long time and who have not seen results, ”said Tércio, partner doctor of the Association for the support of medical cannabis research and patients (Apepi) .
According to him, the high price of products remains an obstacle and the way out is the national production of cannabis. “We see Today associations, such as Apepi, cultivate and increase the production of plants and oils, supported by court decisions. Apepi has a production capacity of five thousand bottles per month. From the moment they release national seeding, everything is resolved. For that, we need to change the legislation,” he reflected.
Anvisa
In addition to purchasing products from cannabis On the national market, exceptional importation is only possible for personal use, upon registration and prior agreement from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), in addition to a medical prescription, informed the agency of regulation.
Authorizations granted to import products on the basis of cannabis rose from 850 in 2015 to 153,671 in 2022. “We clarify that there may be more than one authorization issued for the same patient in a year, for example,” said Anvisa.
The agency also clarified that currently there are 25 cannabis authorized for sale in Brazilian pharmacies and a single drug registered on the basis cannabisthe Mevatyl.
According to Anvisa, the products of cannabis constitute a category created in Brazil in 2019. “They do not have a pre-approved indication in Brazil, because they do not have conclusive data on efficacy and safety at the level required for the registration of a drug . The indication and form of use, as well as the target population of these products, are not previously approved by the agency, leaving its definition under the responsibility of the patient’s treating physician.
“Thus, these products can be used by the Brazilian population without other therapeutic alternatives, according to medical advice and prescription, while clinical studies confirming their effectiveness are completed so that they can then be registered as medicines in the future. The medicine based on cannabis it has specific indications proven and validated by clinical studies, like any other medicine,” added Anvisa.
According to Tércio Sousa, scientific proof of the efficacy and safety of products requires time and investment. “The main research done so far has been sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry itself. It is now that research institutions, such as Fiocruz, and universities are entering, such as the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), which has obtained authorization to plant,” he concluded.