RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday 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.
All the justices who have voted in favor said decriminalization should be restricted to possession of marijuana in amounts suitable for personal use. Selling drugs will remain illegal. “The majority of pre-trial detainees and those convicted of drug trafficking in Brazil are first-time offenders, who carried small amounts of illicit substance with them, caught in routine police operations, unarmed and with no evidence of any relationship with organized crime,” said Ilona Szabó, president of Igarapé Institute, a think tank focusing on public security.
If lawmakers pass such a measure, the legislation would take precedence over the top court’s ruling but still could be challenged on constitutional grounds. “Today, trafficking is the main vector for imprisonment in Brazil,” said Cristiano Maronna, director of JUSTA, a civil society group focusing on the justice system.
A recent study by Insper, a Brazilian research and education institute, determined that Black individuals found by police with drugs were slightly more likely to be indicted as traffickers than white people. The authors analyzed over 3.5 million records from Sao Paulo’s public security secretariat from 2010 to 2020.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: HuffPostCanada - 🏆 61. / 53 Read more »
Source: CBC - 🏆 32. / 63 Read more »
Source: SaltWire Network - 🏆 45. / 63 Read more »
Source: SaltWire Network - 🏆 45. / 63 Read more »
Source: PGCitizen - 🏆 65. / 51 Read more »
Source: CTVNews - 🏆 1. / 99 Read more »