Protesters in Rio advocate medical use of marijuana

A protest for the access to medicines made with the active ingredients of marijuana was staged this Sunday (Sep 28). Today, importing this kind of medication into Brazil entails special control and is only possible by means of an extraordinary request for personal use.

During the demonstration, protesters gave out to bystanders on Copacabana Beach handbooks showing how these medicines can facilitate the treatment of a number of diseases, arguing for measures that make trade easier and lower prices.

Among the demonstrators was engineer Marcos Fernandes, 31, father of a 6-year-old girl who suffers from Rett sydrome. She stopped having severe seizures and recurrent crises after she started taking cannabidiol, a medication produced from the plant. He said that allowing the product to be imported freely is not enough, as it is too expensive. “The important thing is to legalize—not just the medical use, but also planting and producing marijuana products. Imports cost me a monthly [$410]. Most people are no condition to afford it,” he argued.

Entrepreneur Deolinda Rodrigues, 49, also managed to be granted a permit to import the medication for her 23-year-old daughter. “Her convulsive crises would total 30 to 50 every day. She couldn't go to the bathroom by herself; she was upset and felt like a prisoner,” Deolinda said, adding that her daughter experienced hair loss, lack of appetite, nausea and other side effects during the 20 years she underwent conventional treatments.

“Ever since she started taking marijuana medicines, less than a month ago, her improvement has been considerable,” said the businesswoman, who maintains that the federal government should afford imported cannabidiol while its production is not allowed in the country.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira

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