Therapeutic use of cannabidiol: the lawsuit in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil

Abstract

Cannabis sativa L. has been used since before the Christian Era to treat numerous diseases, but in the early 20th century, its use has been banned in several countries, including for medicinal purposes, for being considered illicit drug. However, the need to obtain alternatives to conventional treatments increased the interest for the therapeutic use of this plant, reason why several studies have been carried out, which verified that Cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main compounds of the plant, has great therapeutic potential. In Brazil, its internal commercialization is prohibited, but since 2015 the compassionate use and importation of the substance has been authorized by the Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) and by the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa); however, the demand for CBD continues to be judicialized. The objective of this interdisciplinary research was precisely in this aspect, which was to analyze the constitutive exterior of the problem of access to the referred drug. For that, a documentary and exploratory research was performed, using the qualitative approach, in addition to the bibliographic review. The case study was carried out with the Judicial Processes of the Court of Justice of Pernambuco (TJ/PE) on the subject, located from the grouped insertion of the keywords “supply” and “Cannabidiol” in the field “jurisprudence” of the virtual site of this Court. As a result, it was found that individuals who file a lawsuit meet the requirements of regulatory agencies, which allows to conclude that the administrative refusal to provide the drug by the state of Pernambuco characterizes violation of their right to health.