CANNABIS AND CRIMINAL LAW: LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE MEDICINAL USE OF THE PLANT, CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES OF LEGAL REGULATION OF MEDICINAL CANNABIS IN BRAZIL

Abstract

Considering the growing interest in the medicinal use of cannabis by society and the scientific community, as well as the need to delve deeper into the legal issues related to the topic, this article aims to carry out a bibliographical review on the benefits of the medicinal use of the plant , carry out a comparison of Brazilian legislation with that of other countries regarding the regulation of the medicinal use of cannabis and discuss the difficulties to be faced for possible decriminalization in Brazil. To this end, a systematic bibliographical review of scientific articles dealing with the medicinal use of cannabis in Brazil and its relationship with Brazilian legislation, especially criminal law, was carried out. It is assumed that Brazilian legislation has been undergoing changes in relation to the medicinal use of cannabis, but there are still many obstacles and doubts regarding the legal implications of using the plant as a medicine. The main change that has been debated is the approval of Bill No. 399/2015, which aims to authorize the commercialization of cannabis-derived products for medicinal purposes. However, obstacles of a social nature, such as the fear that the aforementioned regulation will lead to an increase in the recreational use of the plant, and of a scientific nature, such as the lack of national studies proving its effectiveness, still make it difficult to advance the proposed legislative change. , and, consequently, its approval.