Brazilian General Villas-Bôas Advocates Medicinal Marijuana

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Suffering from a degenerative neuromotor disease, General Eduardo Villas Bôas, a former Army commander and current advisor to the Palácio do Planalto’s GSI (Institutional Security Office), is at risk of losing his voice and has been testing technologies to replace speech.

Among other alternatives, the military told the SBT TV station in an interview that he was introduced to cannabidiol — one of the 113 compounds found in marijuana — and, despite not using it, defended the use of the drug and referred to “social hypocrisy” by mentioning the difficulties in access to treatment for those who need it.

“I don’t understand why at the same time that there are people fighting for the legalization of marijuana, it is so difficult to obtain these drugs for medicinal purposes. I find it, in a way, social hypocrisy, and I see the struggle of some people who depend on it to minimize some symptoms of their diseases,” said the general, struggling to breathe.

He said he would establish an institute together with his daughter Adriana to help people suffering from incapacitating diseases, just as he does. In the meantime, he has already begun to use hands-free internet browsing and is testing three different technologies.

Villas Bôas left the Army command earlier this year and was replaced by General Leal Pujol. He wept during the farewell ceremony and was embraced by president Jair Bolsonaro during a speech in which he said that 2018 had been “a challenging year for institutions and for national identity.”

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