Brazil President Lula signs law to curb excess psychotropic drug use in minors

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed Law 15.450/2026, which adds the prevention of indiscriminate or excessive use of psychopharmaceuticals in children and adolescents to Brazil’s official health‑education campaigns. The law amends the Child and Adolescent Statute (ECA) and will take effect 180 days after its publication in the official gazette on 1 July 2026.

The measure originated from former senator Ângela Portela’s Bill PLS 247/2012. She warned that “the use of psychopharmaceuticals in children and adolescents has seen a vertiginous growth worldwide, raising questions among specialists,” and warned that “powerful economic interests of pharmaceutical laboratories reinforce the trend of professionals turning non‑medical problems into biological ones, a process known as medicalisation.” The new legislation aims to curb early and inappropriate medicalisation of youth.