Cannabis in Brazil

Brazil has no legal recreational market, but carrying a small amount is no longer a crime. On 26 June 2024 the Supreme Federal Court (STF), deciding RE 635659, held that buying, keeping or carrying cannabis for personal use is an administrative infraction, not a criminal one. Anyone with up to 40 grams or six female plants is presumed to be a user. The sanctions are a warning about the effects of the drug and an educational program, applied outside criminal proceedings. The presumption is relative: police may still seize the cannabis and take the person to a station when there are signs of dealing, and selling remains trafficking under the Drug Law (Law 11.343/2006).

Medical cannabis is legal on prescription. Since 4 May 2026, ANVISA's RDC 1.015/2026 has replaced RDC 327/2019 as the rule for cannabis products sold in pharmacies and drugstores. Products with up to 0.2% THC need a special-control prescription; stronger ones need the yellow A notification. Inhaled, sublingual, buccal and skin routes are now allowed, while smoked forms and the raw plant are not. Every sale goes through the national controlled-products system. Patients can also import products for their own use with a prescription under RDC 660/2022. The only registered cannabis medicine, the THC/CBD spray Mevatyl, has a government ceiling price above R$3,400 per pack in the September 2026 CMED list.

Demand is large. Kaya Mind's yearbook counted 873,111 patients in 2025 and a market of about R$971 million. Many are served by the roughly 315 non-profit patient associations, 47 of which grow under individual court orders; the best known, Abrace in João Pessoa, won its case in the higher courts in 2023.

Cultivation opened up in 2026. After a Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ruling of 13 November 2024 on hemp with under 0.3% THC, ANVISA published rules on 3 February 2026 letting authorized companies grow such plants for medical and pharmaceutical use (RDC 1.013) and creating a specific framework for patient associations (RDC 1.014). Home growing outside a court order is still not authorized, and there is no over-the-counter CBD. Visitors cannot buy cannabis legally without a Brazilian prescription route.

Prices vary widely by channel. A 10 ml bottle of low-concentration CBD from Prati-Donaduzzi reached pharmacies for under R$90 in December 2024, while high-concentration bottles cost well over R$1,000. Imports can be cheaper per milligram but add exchange-rate and shipping costs, and ANVISA does not assess their quality. In May 2026 the regulator banned two CBD products sold online without authorization, a reminder that anything offered without a prescription is outside the rules. This page is general information, not legal or medical advice.