STF returns with the decriminalization of marijuana this Thursday – 01/06/2023 – Cannabis Inc.

The STF (Federal Supreme Court) scheduled for this Thursday (1) the judgment of the decriminalization of individual possession of marijuana. Although it is a specific case, from 2009, involving a mechanic, it may open case law so that the individual possession of marijuana – and other drugs – is not classified as a crime.

The topic is as important as it is controversial. Precisely because of this, there were doubts as to whether it would not be shelved after the last session of the STF, on Wednesday (24), when it was on the agenda and fell, due to the extensive trial of Senator Fernando Collor, which lasted seven sessions.

The lawsuit judges the unconstitutionality of the Anti-drug Law (nº 11.343 of 2006), which considers a crime to acquire, store and transport even for personal use. But this is not the only issue. “What is at stake in this case is the limit between what the STF can judge and what the Legislature should be responsible for deciding, that is, whether the issue is legal or political”, says lawyer José Miguel Garcia Medina, referee of the STF and the STJ. “The STF tends to manifest itself because the legislature often takes time to resolve this type of dilemma, not following society’s wishes.”

According to him, “for the Justices of the Supreme Court, there should be a way of disciplining the matter in the light of the right to privacy, in the light of the right to privacy, with regard to the use of certain substances that are considered less dangerous, and this was not sufficiently dealt with by the legislature”.

It is worth remembering here that the guarantee of privacy is the argument used by the public defender representing the mechanic. According to her, the issue of self-injury would not be up to the State, as this would be a way of restricting privacy as much as possible.

As this case has been dragging on since 2015, the date it reached the STF, among the comings and goings of the agenda, three justices have already voted. Gilmar Mendes, rapporteur for the extraordinary appeal, Edson Fachin and Luiz Barroso expressed their support for the unconstitutionality.

“There is talk of using objective criteria to assess possession for individual consumption – 25 grams of the substance or six female plants”, says Cristiano Maronna, director of Justa and author of the book Drug law interpreted from the perspective of freedom. “Drug possession, within that limit, would cease to be a crime and possession a probative standard (proof) for the conviction of drug trafficking”.

Even with three votes in favor, there is no guarantee that the majority will keep the score. According to Moronna, some ministers are known for their stance against unconstitutionality “Kássio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça are among them.” Differently from the past, today the matter becomes even more urgent due to the pressure of the advancement of cannabis medicinal plant, which often takes hundreds of patients to the courts with a request for medicinal planting. Not to mention the issue of rampant incarceration for trafficking Brazilians caught with small amounts of drugs. In other words: every day society’s desires are greater in relation to the subject.

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