Import of medical cannabis grows 15 times in 5 years

The evolution of import requests is the first of some numbers that show the medical cannabis market in Brazil. From 2015 to 2021, Brazil received more than 70,400 orders in total. Five years ago, in 2017, Anvisa granted the import of cannabis-based products to 2,101 completed forms. In 2021, the number is 15 times higher: there were 32,416 releases made by the Agency.

G1 report calculates that the cannabis boom in Brazil is a movement of R$ 130 million in the country in 2021, considering only products imported with Anvisa authorization. The amount is “known to be underreported since the number of products that the Regulatory Agency audits the data is only a portion of what comes in”.

Kaya Mind, a company created to analyze the cannabis market, mapped dozens of companies that work directly or indirectly with the plant for medicinal purposes, medicines that are available for importation via Anvisa and SUS expenses with the provision of these medicines by judicial means, which has occurred more frequently since 2017.

The achievement of incalculable value for parents is a reflection of the struggle for the release of medical cannabis intensified since 2010 in Brazil: the import authorization for the product that guarantees a new life for Priscila’s son was one of more than 70,000 already granted since 2015.

A number even lower than the potential of medicines, according to experts, but which already represents a 15-fold increase in imports in 5 years. A booming market that promises to treat more than 20 different medical conditions and which already has 18 products authorized for sale in pharmacies across the country.

Growth in Brazil

Families and civil society organizations became aware of the medicinal properties of cannabis, especially for children with epilepsy, and pressured the National Health Surveillance Agency ( Anvisa ) to release the substances. In 2015, the agency authorized the importation of cannabis-based products into the country.

From 2015 to 2021, Brazil received more than 70,400 orders in total. Five years ago, in 2017, Anvisa granted the import of cannabis-based products to 2,101 completed forms. In 2021, the number is 15 times higher: there were 32,416 releases made by the Agency.

The evolution of import orders is just the first of a few numbers that show the medical cannabis market in Brazil.

Kaya Mind, a company created to analyze the plant’s market, calculates the cannabis boom: a movement of BRL 130 million in the country in 2021, considering only products imported with Anvisa authorization. The company informs that the amount is “known to be underreported, since the number of products that the Regulatory Agency audits the data is only a portion of what comes in”.

To arrive at the calculations of the value and market potential of cannabis, Kaya mapped dozens of companies that work directly or indirectly with the plant for medicinal purposes, medicines that are available for import via Anvisa and SUS expenses with the supply of these medicines by judicial process, which has occurred more frequently since 2017.