A Datafolha survey released this Saturday (23) shows that 76% of Brazilians approve of the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The plant can be used to treat pathologies such as insomnia, depression, inflammation, rheumatic diseases, epilepsy, glaucoma, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis, among others.
It draws attention that the medicinal use of marijuana unites Lulistas and Bolsonaristas, distant spectrums of Brazilian politics. Among the voters of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), 82% approve of the use of the plant to treat diseases. Among voters for former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), support is more timid, but still the majority. In total, 69% of Bolsonaro supporters stated that they support the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
Today, Brazil depends on rare judicial authorizations for the planting of medicinal marijuana to carry out research in the area. However, according to Datafolha, 67% of Brazilians are in favor of allowing the plant to be cultivated in the country, so that it can be used by researchers and for pharmaceutical purposes.
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In this group of those in favor of planting in Brazil, 73% of Lula’s voters support the measure and 24% reject it. Among Bolsonaro supporters, 59% are in favor and 39% are against.
Only 3% of Datafolha respondents admitted using marijuana-based medicines. Among the 97% who said they had never used a medicine that contained the plant’s active ingredient, 60% said they would accept treatment using marijuana.
For the research, Datafolha interviewed 2,016 people, between the 12th and 13th of September, all over 16 years old. The margin of error published by the institute is plus or minus two percentage points.
Editing: Nicolau Soares
