On Thursday (14/09), Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD) presented a Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) to criminalize the transport and possession of drugs, regardless of the quantity and substance. The proposal represents a move by the Senate to fight what is seen by senators as interference from the Supreme Court in matters that are typical of legislators.
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Vote in the Federal Supreme Court (STF)
The PEC is a reaction by the Senate to the STF, which discusses the decriminalization of drug possession for personal use based on the interpretation of an article of law 11,343/2006, the so-called Drug Law. The score is 5 to 1 in favor of decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
Even before the trial resumes, senators and deputies have already protested with the argument that the measure should be discussed by Congress, not by the STF. At the beginning of last month, Pacheco said that “political discussions” should take place at a political level.
Senate’s View on Drug Policy
The Senate’s understanding is that anti-drug policy must involve the vehement recrimination of illicit drug trafficking. And that the decriminalization of possession for use, of marijuana or any other drug, without a public policy discussed in Congress, is an isolated decision that affects the fight against drug trafficking. Ministers and experts who defend the definition of objective criteria for distinguishing between users and traffickers argue that the current model penalizes more black and poor people, causes overcrowding in prisons and strengthens drug factions.
