Brazil decriminalizes possession of marijuana for personal use

Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, June 25, voted to decriminalize possession of marijuana for personal use, making the nation one of Latin America’s last to do so, in a move that could reduce its massive prison population. The trial began in 2015 and has been interrupted on several occasions. Brazil decriminalized marijuana for personal use on Wednesday, making the nation of 203 million the largest to take such a measure and the latest sign of a growing global acceptance of the drug. Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that Brazilians could possess up to 40 grams of cannabis — roughly enough for 80 joints — without facing penalties, a decision that would take effect within days and stand for the next 18 months. The court asked Brazil’s Congress and health authorities to then set the permanent amount of marijuana that citizens could possess. Selling marijuana remains a criminal offense. Thousands of Brazilians are serving prison sentences for possessing an amount of marijuana below the new threshold, legal analysts said. It is unclear how the decision would affect those convictions. Many are Black men, who represent 61 percent of drug-trafficking prosecutions but 27 percent of the population. Studies have shown thousands of Black Brazilians have been convicted in situations that have led to lesser or no charges against white people. Brazil has long taken a harsh criminal approach to drugs, so its decision to effectively allow citizens to smoke marijuana is part of a remarkable shift in public opinion and public policy on the drug over the past two decades. More than 20 countries have now decriminalized or legalized recreational use of marijuana, most in Europe and the Americas. Mexico legalized marijuana in 2021; Luxembourg did so last year; and Germany in April. Canada and Uruguay have allowed licensed sales of marijuana for years. Many more countries have decriminalized marijuana, meaning they abolished criminal penalties for possessing small amounts of the drug, though it technically remains illegal and authorities still target traffickers.