Good morning! We’re covering today Brazil’s promising cannabis market. A drop in Brazilian soybean exports. And a move to keep Brazil within Mercosur. (This newsletter is for platinum subscribers only. Become one now!)
No monopoly in Brazil’s future cannabis market
Brazilian pharmaceutical company Prati-Donaduzzi, from the state of Paraná, tried to patent cannabis oil-based products as its own invention. Prati-Donaduzzi was the first firm to produce 100-percent Brazilian cannabis oil, but its patent request was blocked by the National Institute of Industrial Property (Inpi) for not meeting the standards of a true “invention” (cannabidiol was first isolated in the 1940s by American chemists).
Not THC. Another reason for authorities to block Prati-Donaduzzi’s request was that the company’s demand included the possibility of using THC—the chemical responsible for most of marijuana’s psychoactive effects.
Why it matters. The cannabis market in Brazil is still in its early days, but already accounts for BRL 9.6 billion, including legal and illegal imports of medicinal marijuana products. It has the potential to quickly become a BRL 45-billion market—with 1.7 million patients around the country that could benefit from such products. By blocking the patent, Inpi avoids making the Brazilian cannabidiol sector a monopoly.
Health effects....