Anvisa's Ordinance 344 Mixes Apples and Oranges When It Comes to Hemp

By Marcelo De Vita Grecco

Brazilian health authorities, unfortunately, still treat hemp (hemp in English) as a plant capable of causing psychoactive effects in humans. I assure you, this is impossible! This erroneous understanding only contributes to delaying the development of a new and important market for Brazil, in addition to further increasing misinformation and prejudice surrounding the plant.

I never tire of repeating that hemp seeds and fibers are incapable of causing any psychotropic effect on anyone. However, unfortunately, this is not the same interpretation by Anvisa, which, through Ordinance No. 344/98, prohibits the production, importation, exportation, manipulation, and use of hemp in national territory for any purpose.

Despite all the respect I have for this important regulatory body, I reserve the right to disagree with Anvisa regarding this mistaken position concerning hemp.

Mixing Apples and Oranges

Anvisa mixes hemp seeds and fibers with varieties of the plant that produce flowers, from which cannabinoids are extracted, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), for the production of controlled medications to assist in the therapeutic treatment of dozens of diseases. This confusion contributes to delaying the development of a sustainable production chain for hemp in the country, which we all aspire to. As the ancients used to say: Anvisa mixes apples and oranges, treating differently what is the same.

The varieties of the plant from which cannabinoids are extracted for medicinal use being included in Ordinance 344, I understand. It is imperative to maintain strict control and all special precautions, as Anvisa applies to any medication. What I see as excessive rigidity is extending this same level of control to hemp seeds and fibers intended for industry. I am against mixing specific varieties for the production of medications with hemp seeds and fibers. The agency ends up throwing everything into the same basket. What is and what is not medicine.

From what I know about the characteristics of the plant, hemp seeds and fibers should not even be included in Ordinance 344. In short, I do not understand what a protein and a plant fiber are doing in this regulatory framework that only makes sense for medicinal cannabis.

Flexibility

I also remember that a simple relaxation of Ordinance 344 that allowed, for example, at least the release of hemp importation would change the entire market perspective. The use of imported and processed raw material in our country would guarantee investments in applications developed by Brazilian companies. This action would greatly facilitate research on the industrial use of the plant, which would certainly result in national patents, as well as job and income generation, in addition to taxes for government coffers.

It is known worldwide that hemp offers over 25,000 application possibilities in industry. With all its versatility, hemp can be used in construction, the textile industry, paper and cellulose production, cosmetics, biofuels, among many other applications.

It would be possible to make an enormous list to demonstrate all the market potential we are wasting due to a technical detail in the regulation of hemp by Anvisa.

Reflections

This postpones the use of the plant as a sustainable alternative, which has everything to bring many benefits to national agricultural production and become a new commodity, generating important revenues in strong currency as a new item in the country's export list.

The hemp seed is a superfood that is on the agenda of major companies in the international market. It would be a strong ally in the fight against hunger and food scarcity, including for animals, due to the crisis caused by the war between Russia and Ukraine, for example. This is just one of its possible uses.

From the varieties of hemp that produce seeds and fibers, there is no trace of THC. Oils are extracted from the seeds, foods are produced, cosmetics, and even biofuels.

When talking about hemp-based biofuels, we remember that this is just one of the plant's sustainable footprints. It advantageously replaces fossil raw materials, which are so harmful to the environment and the planet's climate.

Same Key

Your cultivation has the advantages of lower water consumption for its development, and its use is integral. From the root and stem to the top of the plant, everything is utilized, not to mention the phytoremediation property of degraded soils.

For these and other reasons, I will continue to insist on the same key until our authorities can see the damage caused by this confusion of plants. I repeat: this causes a huge delay in the development of the hemp production chain in Brazil and in how much the plant could provide to our economy and national agribusiness.

Same Basket

The damage falls on all of us. With this, Brazil cannot shorten the distance in relation to what is done in other countries that do not criminalize hemp as Brazil does. It is worth remembering that China is one of the countries that produces the most hemp on its territory, despite all its strict anti-drug laws.

We need to work towards changing the status of hemp before Anvisa. This situation of mixing everything in the same basket must be reviewed.

In practice, as long as hemp remains proscribed in Brazil due to the retrogressive effects of Ordinance 344, our progress in this promising market will remain null.

The opinions expressed in this article are personal and the responsibility of their authors.

About the author: Marcelo Grecco Marketing Director of The Green Hub, a consultancy and startup accelerator focused exclusively on the legal cannabis market.