A historic decision taken by the Supreme Court of Brazil, which has officially decriminalized the personal possession of cannabis. Which goes from a criminal offense to a simple administrative offence.
In fact, with 8 votes in favor and 3 against, the judges confirmed the law approved by the Brazilian Congress in 2006. Which introduces of alternative punishments for those who possess "small quantities" of drugs.
The main goal? Reduce the country's prison population, the third largest in the world.
Since, as underlined by the president of the Igarapé Institute Ilona Szabó, "the majority of pretrial detainees and those convicted of drug trafficking in Brazil are novice criminals, who were carrying small quantities of illicit substances, captured during routine police operations, unarmed and without any evidence of links to organized crime."
Brazil: what the decriminalization of cannabis entails
The favorable opinion of the Supreme Court it is only the first step towards a less oppressive policy. In fact, the judges have yet to decide the maximum quantity that a consumer can possess without being charged for drug dealing.
A fundamental limit, that could be set at 40 grams, to draw a precise boundary between personal possession and illicit drug trafficking.
And this is the turning point of the newly approved legislation. As, if the sale of cannabis remains illegal, people caught with small doses of cannabis will no longer be punished with prison, but with administrative sanctions.
Such as warnings, community services and re-education programs. Who recognize the social character of the issue, and treat it as a public health case to take care of.
Indeed, how highlighted by Dias Toffoli, one of the judges in favor of decriminalization, the problem of the current situation is “criminal brand” which weighs on every consumer.
In doing so, Brazil joins other Latin American countries, which are increasingly open to some form of regulation. First of all Uruguay, which in 2013 was the first to legalize cannabis in the world.
