An history of drugs in Brazil

The themes of this thesis are the illicit drugs and the social, cultural, political and economic factors that resulted in prohibition. From a historiographical review and a varied set of sources - medical, legal, journalistic, literary and iconographic - this work rebuilds the main boundaries in the history of drug prohibition in Brazil. The analysis of this material showed that this country participated in the phenomenon known as psychoactive revolution despite being in a peripheral position in the world market. The greater availability of drugs has led to diffusion of analgesics. The official medical profession was against the popularization. There have been exchanges between official conceptions and popular practices through the dissemination of the pharmaceutical formulation and Patent Medicine. The drugs remain as therapeutic resources used during the first half of the twentieth century despite growing restrictions. Brazil presented autochthonous prohibitionist policy that dialogue with the plural international context of the rise of restrictive policies. The reconstitution of the drug policy showed variations of existent objectives throughout history with questioning of the unilateralist vision about increasing punishment law. (AU)