Brazil On The Brink Of Marijuana Decriminalization: Supreme Court To Decide Next Week
Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) is debating the decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use. The session, which began in 2015 and has faced multiple interruptions, has see diverse opinions among the justices.
Toffoli’s Vote And Current Vote Count
Justice Dias Toffoli recently voted to maintain the criminalization of drug possession, arguing that the existing law already treats possession as an administrative offense rather than a criminal one. This vote left the count at 5 to 3 in favor of decriminalization, with Toffoli proposing a middle-ground approach. Toffoli also suggested that the responsibility for defining the quantity that differentiates a user from a trafficker should lie with the National Congress.
The judgment, which addresses the application of Article 28 of the Drug Law (Law 11.343/2006), will resume next week with the pending votes of Justices Cármen Lúcia and Luiz Fux. So far, five justices have voted in favor of decriminalization, highlighting the need to …