Brazil's Company Cannabis Farming Rules Take Effect on 4 August 2026
Six months after publication, ANVISA's rules on company cultivation now apply, while a separate sandbox for patient associations depends on an ANVISA public call. Associations say key questions remain open.
This story is about Brazil — not the country you picked in the header.
Key takeaways
- RDC 1.013/2026 and RDC 1.014/2026 were published on 3 February 2026 with a six-month period before taking effect.
- Companies can now seek ANVISA Special Authorization to grow cannabis under 0.3% THC for medical and pharmaceutical use.
- Patient associations get a non-profit framework that bars commercial sale.
- ANVISA gave holders of existing product authorizations until 1 August 2026 to adjust to RDC 1.015.
- Associations told Forbes Brasil in September that cultivation models, eligibility and THC limits remain unclear.
Brazil's first rules allowing cannabis to be grown on its own soil for medicine are now in force. ANVISA published RDC 1.012, 1.013, 1.014 and 1.015 in the Official Gazette on 3 February 2026, and set a six-month wait for the cultivation rules, which the resolutions fix at 4 August 2026; the association sandbox took effect on publication.
For patients, the changes are gradual. Company farms need an ANVISA inspection and Special Authorization before planting, so no domestic harvest reaches pharmacy shelves immediately.
What is now in force
| Rule | What it does | Applies from |
|---|---|---|
| RDC 1.013/2026 | Special Authorization for companies to grow cannabis at 0.3% THC or less for medical and pharmaceutical production | 4 Aug 2026 |
| RDC 1.014/2026 | Temporary sandbox for non-profit patient associations, entered through an ANVISA public call; no commercial sale; supply only to registered members; up to five years | 3 Feb 2026 (on publication) |
| RDC 1.015/2026 | Manufacture, import and pharmacy dispensing of cannabis products; replaces RDC 327/2019 | 4 May 2026 |
| RDC 1.023/2026 | Labeling, dispensing, product classification and export of Brazilian-made cannabis products and ingredients | Published 13 May 2026 |
Deadlines ANVISA set along the way
ANVISA's board approves the package unanimously.
RDCs 1.012 to 1.015 published in the Official Gazette.
RDC 1.015 takes effect in pharmacies.
RDC 1.023 published on labeling, dispensing and export.
ANVISA publishes a Q&A on product authorizations.
Deadline for holders of existing authorizations to file adjustments.
RDC 1.012 (research cultivation) and RDC 1.013 (company cultivation) take effect.
Associations: a framework with gaps
Around 315 associations serve patients, 47 of them with court authorization to grow, on about 27 hectares of association cultivation, according to Kaya Mind figures cited by Forbes Brasil. At a meeting of northeastern cannabis associations in Fortaleza on 18 September, the legal director of Acaflor, an association in João Pessoa (Paraíba), said police, not health inspectors, were the ones knocking on associations' doors, and a Ceará health-surveillance technician described a lack of practical guidance, Forbes reported. Forbes also cited Kaya Mind as saying the final cultivation model, who may grow, the technical criteria, THC limits and the date rules take practical effect are still undefined.
315
active therapeutic cannabis associations
Kaya Mind 2025 yearbook, via Forbes Brasil
47
associations growing under court authorization
Kaya Mind, via Forbes Brasil, Sep 2026
What to watch next: the first Special Authorizations under RDC 1.013, and how growers that already operate under court orders adapt: RDC 1.013 gives them until 5 August 2027 to obtain Special Authorization.
Sources
- ANVISA — Anvisa publica regras para produção de cannabis medicinal · Feb 3, 2026
- ANVISA — Anvisa aprova por unanimidade regras que cumprem decisão do STJ · Jan 28, 2026
- ANVISA — Anvisa publica Perguntas e Respostas sobre a Autorização Sanitária de produtos de cannabis · Jul 22, 2026
- ANVISA — Anvisa alinha normas a regras de cannabis aprovada em janeiro · May 13, 2026
- Forbes Brasil — Para associações, normas ainda deixam pontos em aberto sobre cannabis · checked Sep 2026
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