In September 16 and 17, the 4th edition of Cannabis Thinking (CT 2022), an event organized by The Green Hub and held at CIVI-CO – a social innovation space that houses the Humanitas360 Institute and other impact companies – brought together guests and experts from the cannabis market. On the agenda were topics such as a new vision on drug policy in Brazil, integrative health, legalization of cannabis as a historical reparation, access to the benefits and quality of cultivation. 

The meeting was attended by Superior Court of Justice judge Rogério Schietti, one of the authors of the laissez-passer for cannabis cultivation for medicinal purposes in the STJ; rapper Marcelo D2, a long-time activist for the legalization of cannabis; the rector of the Zumbi dos Palmares University, José Vicente; Sandra Freitas, director of the Cannabinoid Center of Excellence Institute (CEC); Patrícia Villela Marino, co-founder of CIVI-CO and president of the Humanitas360 Institute, among many others.

The connection between the cannabis decriminalization agenda and the Drug Law was a theme that cut across the debates. The guests pointed out that the “war on drugs” policy affects mainly the black population, which is the majority among the incarcerated and among those killed by the State in alleged police operations. Judge Schietti recalled several cases in which he had to try women who were being prosecuted for possessing small amounts of marijuana, sometimes to do favors for their partners – and the damage that these arrests cause to these already broken families. 

Rapper Marcelo D2 celebrated the fact that almost 30 years after his first songs, he could be at a table with activists and judges to talk about decriminalization. Lúcia Cabral, from the NGO Educap, told about her trajectory as a rights activist in Cidade de Deus, in Rio de Janeiro, reinforcing the importance of thinking about the legalization of cannabis not only as a recreational or medicinal benefit, but also as a new way to think about the periphery and overcome the “war on drugs” fallacy. 

In her speech, the president of the Humanitas360 Institute recalled the importance of the cannabis agenda in the country’s electoral decision this October, and recalled important moments in the history of Brazilian public health, in which the State was central to the adoption of progressive measures such as combating HIV and the cheapening of medicines through the Generic Drugs Law. 

See below a video with declarations about Cannabis Thinking 2022: 

In portuguese