Cannabis investing in Brazil put on hold

Startups from Minas Gerais are preparing to launch cannabis-based products on the market. So far, the planting and registration of cannabis-based medicines were prohibited in Brazil. Anvisa started evaluating each of these factors separately. The cannabis market moved $10 billion in the USA in 2018, so Brazilian investment manager Vitreo has launched two funds for the international cannabis market.

Cannabis investing in Brazil has looked promising, however, the country is experiencing some setbacks in the sector.

Last week, at a public hearing in the Chamber of Deputies on the regulation of medical cannabis plantations, former Federal Deputy, Givaldo Carimbão, said that he was aware of the case of a person who died of a cannabis overdose.

It was the last straw for Margarete Brito, director of the Association for Patient Support and Medical Cannabis Research (Apepi), causing Brito to leave the room in protest, claiming that it was a lie since there are no scientific records of deaths in these circumstances.

You can find more information about the cannabis industry and other important news in the cannabis sector in the Hemp.im app. This app collects the latest marijuana news among cannabis sectors that investors operate in.

Opportunities await those who are interested in cannabis investing in Brazil

Million-dollar enterprises are waiting for the government’s green light to launch themselves into cannabis investing in Brazil and the medical cannabis market.

One of these companies is Ease Labs, which produces cannabis oil to treat symptoms of epilepsy and chronic pain.

CEO Gustavo Palhares says that if Anvisa authorizes the cultivation of cannabis and the production of medicine in Brazil, the company will invest $7 million (R$30 million) in the state.

He did not reveal in which city but said he evaluated two in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte.

Companies are looking to Brazil for cannabis investing

“There are several subdivisions of the cannabis market in the United States, such as platforms for farms and product management, marketing, logistics, and specialized delivery companies. The sub-sectors grow and increase the generation of jobs, not to mention the taxes that are generated when a new line of business like this is opened,” points out the CEO of Minas Gerais.

So far, the planting and registration of cannabis-based medicine were prohibited in Brazil. If the resolutions are not favorable to national production, they should invest millions in Uruguay, where the company is already operating.

Anvisa doesn’t inform when the regulation will be voted by the five directors of the agency. The release would benefit from 1.7 million to 3.9 million patients, according to different assessments.

Another company waiting for this issue to be clarified is the Canadian giant, Canopy Growth. In 2018, the cannabis market moved $10 billion in the United States according to the marketing consultancy Euromonitor.

Additionally, it is estimated that the value will reach $30 billion by 2025. With an eye on that lode, Brazilian investment manager Vitreo has launched two funds for the international cannabis market.

Brazil creates opportunities for national innovation

Startup from Minas Gerais is also waiting for decisions on the regulation of the cannabis plant in Brazil to launch products.

In partnership with the Federal University of Viçosa, the mining company Adwa has created software that allows users to plan the best time for planting and harvesting and manages product traceability.

“I’ve already made contacts with the people of Uruguay and Colombia. We are going to wait until the end of the year to see what Anvisa decides and, starting next year, evaluate if there is a possibility of persisting in Brazil. To run the software in other countries, we would need a few adaptations,” says the company’s CEO, agronomist Sérgio Rocha.

Cuidy is looking to get ahead of the international market and is testing new products. One of the pioneering solutions it is developing is the dry extract of the plant, or a powder that can be used by the industry in creams, capsules, and oils.

This way of extraction allows for better conservation of the plant’s terpenes. Terpenes are the substances capable of potentiating the effects of cannabinoids.

For now, the experiments are made for Abrace Esperança, the only Brazilian association authorized to plant, but the founder of Cuidy, Murilo Gouvêa, says he has received a proposal for rights over products of the brand. 

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(Featured image by LhcCoutinho via Pixabay)

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