The construction of a right: the regulation of medicinal cannabis in Argentina and Brazil

Abstract Cannabis regulation has been constructed and shaped according to local conditions in each country. The role of social movements is fundamental in constructing public policies that overcome the prohibitionist paradigm. The comparison between the normative path of the therapeutic use of cannabis in Brazil and Argentina offers a contrasting example that shows differences in the models adopted in regulation. This study analyzes how activism interferes in the construction of public policies and rights around cannabis, focusing on public health. The methodology used in-depth interviews with activists and professionals who actively participate in institutional debates seeking to expand regulation. The interviews were guided by a semi-structured questionnaire aimed at understanding how interlocutors interpret aspects of each regulation/implementation model and its practical effects. Interviewees’ arguments and reasons for their actions were descriptively analyzed. Results show the advancement of the legal use of medicinal cannabis and the effective participation of cannabis activism, in which the access to medicines is being built as a collectively right. The relationship established between activists from the Cannabis March and patients furthered the advancement of the regulation of cannabis use and increased the number of its users.