Pacientes de “cannabis medicinal”: entre ativismos, mercados e setores da administração pública

Abstract

This thesis deals with the dispute about the legal use of the Cannabis Sativa plant, popularly known as “marijuana”, for medicinal purposes in Brazil. I approach this topic based on collective action and social and political mobilization, especially since 2014, of patients with rare diseases and their families, notably mothers of children with epilepsy, who began to demand to the State access to the extract made from the plant, to improve the health and quality of life of their children, organizing themselves in civil associations. The research demonstrates that the arrival of these mothers of patients on the scene decisively affected the way in which the issue of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes began to be treated in the public debate. Within a logic of criminalizing non-medical uses (also called “recreational” or “social” use), space was opened to think of a use of the plant that was not only permitted, but also morally necessary: not as an addiction, disease or pursuit of pleasure, but because of fundamental rights such as access to health and the right to life. The thesis presents the results of field research that accompanied protagonists of this movement and the daily life of a patient association in Rio de Janeiro for two years. The role of “mothers of patients”, the associative paths of medicinal users and their families, actions of “cultivating the association”, the performances of pressure on authorities and the dispute of public opinion in events and declarations are some of the topics worked on. The work also contributes to the debate on the “State” and public administration, by scrutinizing the process of regulating medical cannabis at National Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA) in 2019 (RDC 327), resuming the argument posed by the activist network about the need for cultivation on national soil and showing the blurred boundaries between technique and politics in sectors of public administration.