The Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumes, this Thursday (17), the judgment of the action that will define whether it is constitutional or not to criminalize someone for possessing drugs for personal consumption. Voting had been paralyzed since August 2, when Gilmar Mendes, who is the case’s rapporteur, asked for more time for analysis.
Consideration on the subject at the STF has been ongoing since 2015 and, since then, the decriminalization of possession of marijuana for personal consumption has already received a favorable vote from four justices: Gilmar Mendes, Edson Fachin, Luís Roberto Barroso and Alexandre de Moraes. The latter presented its position on August 2nd. So far, there are no votes against decriminalization.
The action brings into debate the interpretation of article 28 of the Drug Law (11.343/2006), which lists the penalties for those who “acquire, store, have in deposit, transport or bring with them, for personal consumption, drugs without authorization or in disagreement with legal or regulatory determination”.
Moraes argues that the STF should define the amount of marijuana that distinguishes the user from the dealer. For him, anyone who carries between 25 and 60 grams of marijuana should be considered a “user”.
During his opinion, on August 2, Moraes cited a study carried out with the prison population of São Paulo that demonstrates that State agents have made an arbitrary interpretation of Article 28 of the Drug Law. The data show that the definition of the person charged as “user” or “dealer” varies according to education, skin color and age.
Editing: Rodrigo Chagas
