The decision follows the understanding of the STF, which defined that the possession of up to 40g of the drug for personal use is not a criminal offense
The 6th Class of STJ (Superior Court of Justice) began to apply the decision that decriminalized the possession of marijuana for personal use and set the amount of 40 grams to differentiate users from drug dealers. The decision was made last week and announced on Wednesday (Aug 21, 2024). Here are the full texts of the rapporteur’s vote (PDF – 120 kB), Minister Sebastião Reis Júnior, and the judgment (PDF – 84 kB).
In June of this year, the STF (Federal Supreme Court), the highest court in the country, decriminalized possession of drugs and determined that the decision be complied with throughout the country. The ministers maintained possession as an illegal behavior, but defined that the consequences would be administrative in nature, not criminal.
On August 14, the STJ ruled on an appeal by a man accused of possessing 23 grams of marijuana. Upon analyzing the case, the ministers of the panel decided to extinguish the man’s punishability.
With the decision, the case will be sent to the 1st instance, which must apply administrative measures, such as a warning about the use of narcotics and mandatory attendance at an educational course, without criminal repercussions.
On June 25, the Court concluded its judgment on the constitutionality of Article 28 of the Drug Law (Law 11,343/2006). To differentiate users and traffickers, the law provided for alternative penalties of community service, warnings about the effects of drugs and mandatory attendance at an educational course.
With information from Brazil Agency.
#STJ #rules #appeal #applies #decriminalization #marijuana #possession