Brazil OKs Medical Pot

Brazilian pharmaceutical regulator Anvisa on Dec. 3 approved regulations for medicinal cannabis-based products but blocked a proposal to allow domestic medical marijuana growing, reports Reuters.

An Anvisa spokesman said that Brazilian firms interested in manufacturing cannabis-based products would need to import inputs from abroad.

Anvisa also set out specific rules for the manufacture, import, sale, packaging, marketing and regulation of cannabis-based products.

The new rules will be published in the country’s official gazette in the next few days and come into law 90 days after that.

Brazil’s decision to allow cannabis-based products is part of a slowly changing worldwide view toward illegal drugs.

Uruguay legalized the growing, sale and smoking of marijuana in December 2013.

Colombia has also legalized medical marijuana while in Mexico, the supreme court ordered the country’s health ministry to speed up its issuance of medical marijuana regulations with recreational cannabis also being discussed by lawmakers.