Brazil's Supreme Court Decriminalizes Marijuana for Personal Use

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled that purchasing and possessing up to 40 grams of marijuana for personal use is no longer a crime, though it remains illegal in public places. This move aims to address the discrimination and overcrowded prisons problem, distinguishing between users and traffickers.

Brazil's Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that purchasing and possessing up to 40 grams of marijuana for personal use will no longer be a crime, though police can still seize the drug.

Marijuana continues to be illegal in Brazil and its use in public places will still be prohibited. But a person caught using marijuana and possessing up to 40 grams or up to six female cannabis plants will not receive a criminal record and will just appear before a judge to hear a warning on the drug's dangers, the court ruled.

Uruguay was the first country in the world to legalize the recreational use of marijuana in 2013. In Colombia, possession of small amounts was decriminalized a decade ago, and possession is also allowed in Ecuador and Peru. Brazil police will be able to arrest a person caught selling marijuana even if it is less than 40 grams, when there are clear signs of intent to sell it, such as packaging, a weighing scale or cellphone data related to drug trafficking, the justices decided.

The ruling followed a vote on Tuesday in which a majority of the 11-member top court was in favor of decriminalizing possession for personal consumption. The court said its guidelines on private use of marijuana will stand until Congress passes legislation.

An anti-drug bill advancing in Congress, with the support of conservative and evangelical Christian lawmakers, proposes amending the Constitution to make the use and possession of any narcotics a criminal offense. Congressional leaders were annoyed that the justices had ruled on a matter that the court has been considering since 2015 and which lawmakers maintain is a social issue to be decided by Congress, not the judiciary.

However, Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso said while none of the justices defended drug use, there was a need to decriminalize personal use of marijuana because too many young people were being jailed on drug charges that do not distinguish between users and traffickers. "In our judgment, the failure to establish a distinctive criterion for user and trafficker has meant that there is great discrimination against poor people, generally Black people who live on the outskirts," Barroso said after the ruling.

That situation was supplying crews for organized crime in Brazil's overcrowded prisons, he said.

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