Geography and cannabis

territorial disputes in Brazil

Abstract

Over thousands of years cannabis has been used by humans. Currently prohibited in like Brazil, until shortly after the beginning of the 20th century, this plant it had hardly been repressed throughout the existence of mankind. Although in recent years Brazil has been rethinking its legal treatment, the legal cultivation and trade of cannabis is exclusively for medicinal purposes, while recreational use, which has not ended with prohibition and repression, constitutes a demand for cannabis that is sustained by illegal production. Different groups of individuals project their intentions onto cannabis, resulting in different representations in the national territory regarding this plant. At any moment cannabis can become legalized or more repressed if one intention prevails over the other. Although these intentions also come from other countries in significant ways, such as the worldwide influence on drug policy exerted by the United States, territorial disputes have unique configurations in each country. The case of Brazil investigated in this text, may involve internal and external relations. However, so far not even an effort has been made to identify the possible territories configured in this dispute. This study aims to conceptualize the main territorial disputes constituted by cannabis in Brazil. After reviewing historical-geographical aspects of cannabis in relation to its interests for humanity, the concept that allows us to understand how the different territories are configured in this dispute is defined. Four territories were identified and conceptualized. This is a unique study that is just beginning, and despite the valuable discussion, there is still much to investigate about the geographies of cannabis, and its possible subfields, such as the territorialities involved. Thus it is also hoped that this discussion will stimulate further research.