Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice, or STJ as it is known in Brazil, has extended once more the timeline of long-awaited hemp regulation. This time the Federal Government and Health Agency Anvisa have until spring next year to finish the regulations for importing cannabis seeds with low THC and for cultivating hemp hemp for scientific and medical use.
STJ unanimously ruled in favor of the Attorney General’s Office’s request, arguing that interministerial tasks required to complete a national decree could not be accomplished within the time frame currently available.
Setbacks in regulatory terms
The STJ’s extension until March 31, 2026 delays the process, which is already a long-running one. It has been a series of missed deadlines ever since STJ in late 2024 ruled low-THC Cannabis did not fall under Brazil’s Narcotics act and told regulators they had six months to set up a compliance framework.
Justice Regina Helena Costa who wrote that decision last week, accepted the position of the government that rule-making requires additional time. She noted in granting the delay that agencies are trying to meet the requirements despite the technical obstacles.
The new deadline replaces a September 2025 cutoff that Anvisa did not meet, prompting the agency—through the Attorney General’s Office—to request additional time. Anvisa officials explained that the October 2025 delay was due to the regulatory and scientific demands for cannabis cultivation, and the necessity of further dialog between government, industry, and civil society.
They also sugggested the matter be brought before the Council for Sustainable Economic and Social Development, known as the Conselhão, to broaden political input.
Industry Frustration
Researchers and hemp stakeholder are increasingly frustrated by the repeated delays. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) said in October that the extension of the deadline would slow down research further and reduce Brazil’s capacity to take decisions based on scientific evidence.
The group emphasized the fact that projects to develop new varieties and scale up domestic production are not possible without rules. In the original decision of Judge Costa, hemp was not acknowledged for its uses other than medical. This means that hemp production for fibres and grains has only been allowed in research and on pilot basis.
Brazil’s projected spending on cannabinoid medicines will exceed $150 million by 2025. A large portion of these drugs is imported. Analysts believe that domestic production can grow over the next decade, as long as rules are set up to reduce reliance on external suppliers. Advocates for the industry have said that delays will undermine Brazil’s national interest, especially given Brazil’s dependency on imported active pharmaceutical components and global competition among cannabinoids and hemp products.
Lingering uncertainty
This new STJ extension highlights the difficulties Brazil faces in implementing regulatory guidelines despite being given clear directions by courts. The STJ’s new extension highlights the difficulty Brazil has faced in implementing a regulatory framework despite clear judicial direction.