São Paulo regulates law on public supply of cannabis‑based medicines

The government of São Paulo has regulated the law that establishes a state policy for the free supply of cannabis-based medicines as part of the country’s national health care network, SUS. The implementation of this policy is now the responsibility of the State Health Secretariat.

Cannabis-based medicines and products will be supplied at the request of the patient or their legal representative. The secretariat will receive and analyze submissions with a therapeutic indication on an outpatient basis, along with documents and prescriptions filled out and signed by a doctor.

Once the request has been granted, the products will be supplied for a maximum period of six months from the date of the first dispensation. A successful application can be renewed once the documentation has been resubmitted and updated.

During treatment, the secretariat may require complementary medical examinations and reports, as well as an assessment of the patient, in person or online, with a doctor appointed by the secretariat.

Medicines and cannabis-based products supplied to patients or their legal representatives may not be donated, lent, passed on, sold, or offered to third parties.

The supply of medicines may also be interrupted if a technical evaluation demonstrates that “the effectiveness of the treatment or the safety of the patient is compromised,” the decree states.