Brazil university allowed to research into Cannabis byproducts
Brazil’s drug authority Anvisa granted special authorization for the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) to conduct scientific experiments with products derived from cannabis.
The permission applies to the university’s Brain Institute and involves pre-clinical research projects to assess the efficacy and safety of phytocannabinoid combinations in the management of signs and symptoms linked to neurological and psychiatric disorders. Pre-clinical research is not conducted in humans, Anvisa stated.
Since 2019, an Anvisa resolution authorizes the manufacture and import of products with cannabis for medicinal purposes in Brazil. According to the watchdog, over 100 thousand patients are estimated to undergo some type of treatment using cannabis. In addition, more than 66 thousand cannabis-based medicines were imported in 2021. Approximately 50 countries have regulated the medicinal and industrial use of the cannabis plant and hemp.
Requirements
In granting permission, Anvisa stipulated that the university must meet a series of criteria, among them the one requiring that, in the case of product disposal, “the product must be inactivated through autoclaving, then disposed of by a specialized company through incineration.”
