Moisés Ferreira: “Legalizing fights trafficking and promotes public health”

At the age of 31, Moisés Ferreira, deputy from the Bloco de Esquerda (BE), is preparing to present two bills for the legalization of cannabis in Portugal, one for medicinal purposes and the other for recreational purposes. In the past, the proposals to legalize the Bloc were rejected by the Assembly of the Republic, but the current situation has everything to reverse this trend. On the third, will it be for good?

In one of the meetings that Cannativa had with the deputy from BE to prepare the bill for the legalization of medical cannabis, Cannapress took the opportunity to interview Moisés Ferreira and thus learn more about the reasons that led him to embark on such a topic. controversial.

The legalization of cannabis is a cause that moves many people around the world. Is Moses a man of causes?
I like to think so. There are simple causes, such as freedom and democracy, which are basic principles that we must never give up, regardless of other interests that may exist. And then there is a fundamental cause, which is the fact that people should have the right to do what they want with their lives to be as happy as possible and the State does not have the right to say that a person can or cannot marry with this person, that the person can or cannot consume this substance, etc., because that depends on free will, individual decision and what people want to do in their life. I think this is also a very important principle of freedom that should guide not only the Bloc but also my participation in the Assembly of the Republic.

Moisés Ferreira, 31, is a deputy from the Bloco de Esquerda and will present two bills for the legalization of cannabis: one for medicinal and another for recreational (Photo: Laura Ramos)

Is it this principle of freedom that moves the Left Bloc to move forward with bills to regulate Cannabis?
It will not be news to anyone if I say that the Left Bloc defends the legalization of cannabis use for all purposes, the so-called medicinal purpose and the so-called recreational purpose. What we are currently preparing is a draft law that creates the legal framework for the legalization, prescription, dispensing and reimbursement of cannabis for medicinal and therapeutic purposes. There is more than scientific evidence that makes it possible to move forward safely in this area. And then, another bill, which is actually the consequent step and subsequent to the great step that Portugal took at the beginning of the millennium with decriminalization, which is the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes and the possibility of commercialization, sale and of self-cultivation as well.

What will these legalization proposals look like?
We are open to sharpening our proposals and improving them from the point of view of detail. In fact, the Bloco de Esquerda has always had the objective of legalizing it and then it has been learning and drinking with some international experiences to build its model and we are completely open to discuss it. We just don't give up on this objective, which is legalization, and that's what we want to do.

Legalize why? 
Reasons why we advocate legalization: the issue of freedom, yes. The current legislation contains hypocrisy in itself, because it rightly says that no one can be criminalized for consuming. But then it does not allow buying and selling, nor does it allow cultivation. Therefore, in some way, it is always criminalized. It is not criminalized because it is consumed but it is criminalized because it is going to buy or sell, or else it is criminalized the cultivation for own consumption. And it is not by chance that SICAD shows, for example in the 2015 report, that there is an increase in offenses related to cannabis use. The legislation for decriminalization was a very important step, which put Portugal at the forefront of countries worldwide, but 17 years have passed. And therefore, it is necessary to take new steps, it is necessary to look at the legislation, to realize that it was important, but it already contains some anachronism and that it is necessary to give new answers. More than that, legalization brings benefits to society as a whole. By legalizing it, we are fighting trafficking networks and their financing, because then they are not networks that only sell cannabis, many are networks that are associated with small, medium and large criminality.

What advantages can legalization bring to society in general?
Legalizing combats trafficking and, perhaps even more importantly, promotes public health, because it allows for regulation and assessment of what is actually being sold and bought. SICAD says there are increasing cases of people being admitted to hospital with, for example, psychotic episodes or acute anxiety problems related to cannabis use. This is because most likely what is being sold on the street is an adulterated product, chemically and genetically, and therefore, if it is legalized, there will be greater control over the quality of the product and people will be able to consume it more safely and with less impact on your health. Hence, it is positive from an individual point of view and from a public health point of view as well.

The principle of freedom is one of the most cherished by Moisés Fereira (Photo: Laura Ramos)

Many countries in Europe and the world have legalized medical cannabis. Why does Portugal still not have an incentive program for studies related to cannabis and its potential?
Portugal probably still has some problem of prejudice with the plant and this extends to hemp, which has many difficulties in obtaining production licenses, despite having medicinal effects, namely through the exploitation of CBD (cannabidiol), and also being used at an industrial level, such as in textiles and other types of fibers. The same happens in the area of ​​medical cannabis, because in Portugal INFARMED has already authorized the entry and marketing of a drug, which is Sativex, but despite it being authorised, pharmacies do not have it. Doctors don't prescribe, if doctors don't prescribe, pharmacies don't buy and so there's a 'tail-in-mouth' effect here. The truth is that it is already possible to use this drug, but no one can access it. And that is why the Left Bloc wants, with its bill, to reformulate the legal framework, so that it is said and made clear that the prescription of cannabis is possible and that it has therapeutic potential that we have to explore . If we explore the therapeutic potential of opiates, for example, we as a society should also explore the therapeutic potential of a plant such as cannabis, which, compared to other medicinal drugs, has the same therapeutic potential with less risk. We also want to include in one of the articles the promotion of scientific studies, because currently there is already a lot of research on THC and CBD internationally, but the plant has many other components, many other cannabinoids that have therapeutic potential and that are still relatively unknown. . That is why it makes sense that Portugal also invests in this research, from the point of view of health and of being able to provide people with new therapies, new drugs that are effective for many diseases, and from the economic point of view, to enhance the production, processing and the export of some derivatives and substances, which can be used in Portugal and abroad for medicinal purposes.

Are Portuguese doctors prepared to prescribe medical cannabis?
I think so, they are prepared to prescribe and they already do it today, so I don't think they will have any objections on the subject. We have heard, for example, the president of SICAD say that he has no objection to the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. We heard the current chairman of the Ordem dos Médicos say that he is available to discuss the matter. And we have public statements from several doctors in Portugal who, perhaps because they deal with extreme situations, of oncological cases, neuromuscular diseases, etc., realized that cannabis actually has a positive effect on these diseases. The President of the Porto IPO, Dr. Laranja Pontes has also publicly defended the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes. So I think so, doctors are used to dealing with people's suffering, with illness, and they are used to looking at substances in an uncomplicated way, realizing what each of them can do to alleviate suffering and improve health , and cannabis is one of those substances.

But do you think doctors know exactly what kind of plant to prescribe or should they have training at that level?
I suppose many know, even because they are interested and study the subject. It is actually complex, because it is necessary to understand, first, what is the most appropriate dosage and then to know which combinations, for example, between THC, CBD, etc. But this is like when any new drug is introduced on the market, you have to know how to prescribe it, because the prescription is not just saying 'go take this', you have to say how many times a day, which way of taking it, what is the composition , and so yes, it is normal that there has to be training / information afterwards, which there is whenever there are new products available for therapeutic purposes, there always has to be. And cannabis will not be an exception from that point of view either, it will have to follow this normal procedure.

And who can prescribe? Only specialist doctors or should the family doctor also be able to prescribe medical cannabis?
At the moment, I think that the legal framework for cannabis prescription should be simplified, despite the fact that there will be a regulation afterwards. What we would like to propose in this legal framework was that any doctor could prescribe.

Moisés in the Assembly of the Republic, in an interview with Cannapress TV

Do you think that the Portuguese are now more informed about what medicinal cannabis is or is there still a lot of work to be done?
There is always work to be done, but I think that everyone understands that if there is a substance that is therapeutically effective and that can be available to everyone, it must actually be made available. It is not possible to understand that there may be new drugs or new therapies on the market that are effective in combating disease or alleviating suffering and which are not available. I think everyone understands this, because everyone in their family has someone in their family who has had a disease where maybe using cannabis would have helped, not just the symptoms but the disease itself. Nobody understands that, just because of prejudice towards a plant, these substances and these therapies are not made available.

Do you think 2017 will finally be the year of legalization?
Let's do it! On the part of the Left Bloc, we are going to do everything in our power to make it happen. For medicinal purposes, for recreational purposes, this has been our objective for a long time and I think that as we present projects we are gaining support, not only political parties, but also in society, and at the moment I believe that there are conditions to do so. .

What would you like to say to people who use cannabis and who still suffer some reprisals for using it?
Reprisals from the social point of view, from social stigma, or reprisals from the point of view of…

Even criminal...
Criminal, exactly. Decriminalization was a good step, however, in order to have complete decriminalization, it is also necessary to decriminalize the cultivation, it is necessary to decriminalize the purchase and sale, and that is legalization. Therefore, it is only with legalization that we can really achieve decriminalization. Legalization will not bring with it an increase in consumption (as it has not brought about decriminalization), nor will it bring with it social problems. In fact, it will reduce social problems, as we were talking about earlier, namely problems that are associated with the consumption of adulterated substances, which are adulterated because, being illegal, it is not possible to control their quality, and therefore what I say is, we are going to do everything in our power, when I say we are the Left Bloc, to legalize so that there is actually a real decriminalization. And we know how these things work, the law influences society as society influences the law. When there is legalization, there will be a process in society to break the social stigma that may still exist towards some consumers.

How do you break this taboo and this social stigma in relation to a plant with so much potential?
It's just naturalizing. Not wanting to make comparisons, because the subjects are not comparable, but Portugal has already had so many debates on so-called fracturing and controversial subjects, that later it was seen that when it was legalized it was completely naturalized, nobody talks about it anymore, it is already completely integrated into society, and I think that the legalization of cannabis will do exactly the same.
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Featured image: Laura Ramos