Sales volume of cannabis products grows 342.3%

A survey carried out by Cannabis & Health Portal shows a 342.3 percent growth in sales of cannabis-based products in pharmacies in Brazil, since 2018. From the entry of the first product on the market until now, revenue has expanded significantly. From 2021 to 2022 alone, a turnover of BRL 77,008,596.00 was reported, an increase of 156.1 percent.

The volume of prescriptions grew by 487.8 percent last year. The total number of physicians prescribing cannabidiol-based products for pharmacy purchase rose from 6,300 in 2021 to 15,400 last year, an increase of 146 percent.

Among all medical specialties prescribing cannabidiol, 33 percent are neurologists; 26 percent, psychiatrists; 8 percent, geriatricians; 7 percent, pediatricians; 5 percent, general practitioners, and 3 percent are orthopedists. Essentially, these medical fields represent more than 80 percent of the prescribing volume of this market,” the survey reads.

High price

For Tércio Sousa, a general practitioner with international certification in Endocannabinoid Medicine by the WeCann Academy (2021), the numbers indicate the veracity of the information that cannabis is now indispensable in medicine.

“It’s a point of no return. Doctors who only treat with allopathy are often unsuccessful and they begin to lose patients to those who are prescribing cannabis. Most of the patients who now seek this kind of treatment are people who have been fighting, for example, pain, spasms, and Parkinson’s for a long time and don’t see any results,” said doctor Sousa, a physician who is a member of the Medical Cannabis Patient and Research Support Association (Apepi).

According to him, the high price of the products is still an obstacle, and the solution is to produce cannabis in the country. “Today we see organizations like Apepi, growing and increasing the production of plants and oils, supported by court decisions. Apepi has a production capacity of five thousand bottles a month. From the moment the planting is authorized in the country, everything will be solved. For this to happen, it is necessary to change legislation,” he pondered.

Health Surveillance

In addition to the acquisition of cannabis products on the domestic market, exceptional importation is possible for personal use only, upon registration and prior approval by Brazil’s national drug regulator Anvisa, and a medical prescription, Anvisa informed.

The authorizations granted for the importation of cannabis-based products increased from 850 in 2015 to 153,671 in 2022. “We clarify that there may be more than one authorization issued for the same patient over the course of a year, for example,” Anvisa explained.

According to the drug regulator, there are currently 25 cannabis products authorized for sale in Brazilian pharmacies and only one registered cannabis-based drug, Mevatyl.

Cannabis products constitute a category created in Brazil in 2019. “They do not have a pre-approved indication in Brazil, as they do not have conclusive efficacy and safety data at the level that is required for the registration of a drug. The indication and form of use, as well as the target population of these products, are not previously approved by the regulator, leaving their definition under the responsibility of the patient’s treating physician,” Anvisa said.

Doctor Tércio Sousa explained, scientific proof of the efficacy and safety of the products requires time and investment. “The main research done so far was sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry itself. Only now research institutions are starting to undertake them, like Fiocruz and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), which received authorization for planting the product,” he added.