Minister Paulo Teixeira and Congressman Eduardo Suplicy requested a safe conduct from the Federal Justice for the Santa Gaia Association. The organization, which serves medical cannabis patients, is seeking authorization to resume operations after being shut down by the police on Thursday (16).

The request was made together with the association's lawyer, Antônio Pinto. The petition took place in an online meeting on Monday afternoon (20) with Federal Judge Paulo Fontes.

Congressman Eduardo Suplicy defended the social role of the organization, which serves around 9,000 patients. "Justice needs to understand that these associations are not linked to organized crime. The majority of their members are children and elderly individuals who benefit from medical cannabis treatment. The work of these organizations needs to be recognized and respected by the public authorities," he told Portal Sechat.

Minister Paulo Teixeira emphasized hope for regulation. "We hope that the safe conduct for the Santa Gaia Association, in addition to restoring its operations, will be a sign that medical cannabis will have open pathways for its regulation," he said in a social media post after the meeting.

Involvement in the cannabis agenda

Over the weekend, Teixeira and Suplicy also played an active role in recovering about 47 cannabis-related accounts that had been taken down on Instagram. On Saturday (18), Teixeira publicly expressed his concerns, demanding explanations from Meta about the removal of the profiles.

In an Instagram post, the minister classified the suspensions as a form of censorship and questioned whether the action came from the company itself or if there was a judicial decision involved.

"If the initiative was from the company, I requested the reinstatement of these accounts. Otherwise, we will request judicial protection on Monday to ensure the return of the profiles. The absence of these pages harms Brazilian society and the patients seeking information and treatment through these associations," he stated.

Portal Sechat reached out to the judge and the Federal Regional Court of the 3rd Region (TRF3). Up to the time of publication of this article, no response had been received.