Anvisa President ensures he will not yield to pressure against cannabis cultivation

Anvisa is expected to approve next week the regulation of cannabis cultivation for medicinal purposes in Brazil and the registration of these medications, despite internal and external pressures from the federal government against the activity. The director-president of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), William Dib, guaranteed that he will not give up on the proposal, even though he is the target of harsh criticism from the Bolsonaro government. The statement was made in an interview with Folha de São Paulo this Wednesday.

"We will publish the agenda for the next meeting and I tell you: Cannabis is on it".

Dib revealed resistance from the government, but he is optimistic about the approval: "If I give up, many people here will applaud". If the proposal is approved, it is estimated that the first cannabis-based medications will take at least a year to reach the market.

In the interview with Folha, Dib refuted government criticism and stated that the release of these products will have low health risk. "The worst that can happen is it being innocuous."

For the Anvisa president, the need for regulation of cultivation is urgent.

"Otherwise, we will soon have thousands of judicial authorizations for cultivation (by patient families). Does this provide access to people? Yes. But does it provide the assurance that they are taking a quality product? No."

According to Dib, a potential Anvisa regulation should also impact a new assessment by judges on these actions. "Most grant authorization until the process is regulated," he says. "With this, I believe the Judiciary will review these sentences."