The board of directors for Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) recently approved a measure that allows the regulation of Cannabis sativa-based products by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) and the prescription of these products by veterinarians. The decision amends Ordinance SVS/MS 344/1998 and will allow the following measures related to the medicinal use of Cannabis in animals, with regard to registration and product:

1. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock may regulate Cannabis- based veterinary products for sale in the country. In Brazil, veterinary products are regulated by MAPA.

2. Veterinarians qualified by the Federal Council of Veterinary Medicine (CFMV) may prescribe:

Currently, veterinarians already prescribe medications based on controlled substances, just as Mapa already evaluates the efficacy, safety and quality of controlled medications intended for veterinary use.

Anvisa will include a new addendum in the Lists of Annex I of Ordinance SVS/MS 344/1998, which controls special substances and medicines. All strict controls will remain in force, ensuring the safe and therapeutic use of these products. Veterinarians may only prescribe these products through special prescriptions from pharmacies, as is already the case with other controlled medications and products, in accordance with current legislation, guaranteeing their strictly therapeutic use.

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U.S. regulations

Products from Cannabis plants (hemp; Cannabis sativa L.) have been used for fiber, food and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Although the plant contains over 80 naturally occurring compounds called cannabinoids, the best-known cannabinoids are CBD and THC which are biologically active. Cannabis plant varieties have been cultivated to produce high amounts of CBD and THC (used for recreational and medicinal purposes) and varieties used for fiber and oil seed production ("industrial hemp"), which contain relatively low CBD and THC concentrations.

In the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress authorized the legal production of industrial hemp in the United States with the stipulation that industrial hemp would contain less than 0.3% THC on a dry-matter basis. The low percentage of THC differentiates hemp products from marijuana or medicinal Cannabis varieties, which may contain greater than 5% THC. As industrial hemp develops as an agricultural commodity in the U.S., companies are now producing hemp seed oil from cultivars with very low THC content (< 0.01%). However, producers of hemp seed oil are having difficulty finding a market for hempseed cake, a major byproduct formed during oil extraction from industrial hempseed.

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Final determination and approval for the legal use of hemp products in animal feeds remain with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.