Brazilian Supreme Court to rule on decriminalization of drug possession

By Fernando de Castro

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) will resume Wednesday, 24, the trial on decriminalizing drug possession for personal use.

The case is under the supervision of Justice Gilmar Mendes.

So far, three favorable votes have been registered.

Gilmar Mendes defended decriminalizing all drugs, while Justices Luís Roberto Barroso and Edson Fachin restricted their positions to the use of cannabis.

The next to vote is Justice Alexandre de Moraes.

In 2018, he returned the case for trial, which had been at a standstill since former Justice Teori Zavascki’s request for access to the case in September 2015.

Teori died in a plane crash in January 2017.

The discussion started in 2015 and was recognized with general repercussions.

As a result, the understanding established by the STF in this case will serve as a basis for similar situations throughout the country.

UNDERSTANDING THE CASE

The Justices are considering an appeal filed by the Public Defender’s Office of the State of São Paulo on behalf of Francisco Benedito de Souza.

In 2010, he was sentenced to two months of community service after being caught with 3 grams of cannabis in his cell at the Provisional Detention Center of Diadema (SP).

The Public Defender’s Office argues that this criminal typification violates the constitutional principles of intimacy and private life.

The trial revolves around Article 28 of the Drug Law, which establishes penalties for those possessing drugs for personal consumption without authorization or violating the law.

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGR), on the other hand, is in favor of the constitutionality of the article and the criminalization of drug possession for personal consumption.

“The conduct of those who carry drugs for their own use, by itself, contributes to the spread of addiction in society,” criticized the PGR.

“The use of narcotics affects not only the user in particular but society as a whole.”

With information from Revista Oest

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