Possibility of the STF decriminalizing possession of marijuana is a “mistake”, says Pacheco

drugs

The decriminalization guided by the STF concerns the personal use of the plant

Brasilia DF) – The president of the Federal Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), classified as a “serious mistake” the possibility of the Federal Supreme Court (STF) to determine the decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use.

For Pacheco, an eventual decision to consider the possession of marijuana for personal use a crime could lead to greater strength and demand from drug trafficking in the country.

“From the conception of the Antidrug Law, there was also a political option to foresee the crime of drug trafficking with the penalty associated with it, and to also foresee the criminalization of possession for drug use”,

said on Wednesday (2) in Plenary.

“By allowing or legalizing the possession of drugs for personal use, who will you buy the drug from? From a drug dealer, who commits a very serious crime that is equivalent to heinous”, added Pacheco.

The President of the Senate also stated that the STF cannot take a decision contrary to an existing law, and that an eventual decriminalization by the Supreme Court without discussion in the National Congress and without the application of public health policies qualifies as “invasion of the competence of the Federal Legislative”.

The vote in the Supreme Court is 4-0 to no longer consider possession of marijuana for personal consumption a crime.

On Wednesday (2), Minister Alexandre de Moraes joined Edson Fachin and Roberto Barroso, who voted in this direction in 2015, and Gilmar Mendes, who voted to broadly decriminalize possession for personal use, without specifying drugs.

Rapporteur’s vote

Gilmar Mendes, when voting for decriminalization in 2015, proposed that there be no more criminal consequences for those who use drugs. The minister, however, defended the maintenance of administrative sanctions, with the exception of the penalty for providing services to the community.

In the magistrate’s assessment, criminalization stigmatizes the user and compromises prevention and harm reduction measures, in addition to generating disproportionate punishment.

Gilmar emphasized that the decriminalization of use does not mean the legalization or liberalization of the drug.

“Although the conduct is no longer considered a crime, it does not mean that there has been unrestricted release or legalization of possession for personal use, the conduct remaining, in certain circumstances, censored through measures of an administrative nature”,

explained.

The minister stated in his vote that the law in Brazil accorded different treatment to the different degrees of involvement in the trafficking chain, but was not objective in relation to the distinction between user and dealer. “In most cases, everyone ends up classified simply as a drug dealer,” he said.

An eventual decision by the Supreme Court to decriminalize consumption may bring, as a consequence, the need to set objective parameters to differentiate user from drug dealer – something that current legislation does not do.

In addition to Moraes, who also moved towards establishing parameters between traffic and use was Barroso. He proposed that the possession of up to 25 grams of marijuana or the planting of up to six seedlings be adopted as a reference for differentiation. These criteria would be valid until Congress regulates the matter.

Fachin was also in the sense of delegating to other Powers the function of defining some parameter. He proposed that the STF declare as a legislative attribution the establishment of minimum quantities that serve as a parameter to differentiate user and dealer, and that bodies of the Executive Branch issue provisional quantity parameters for differentiation.

*With information from CNN

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