Minister Gilmar Mendes voted this Tuesday (10), during a session of the 2nd Panel of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), to extend the decriminalization of marijuana possession to cocaine.
This is the trial of a woman who was reported for drug possession after being caught with 0.8 grams of cocaine and 2.3 grams of marijuana, in Rio Grande do Sul.
For Gilmar, although Theme 506 (of June 2024) was limited to marijuana, the basis of the decision can be discussed and expanded to other substances in concrete situations.
Theme 506 of the STF is the understanding that it is not a crime to possess marijuana for personal use, up to the limit of 40 grams or 6 female plants, eliminating the criminal punishment provided for in article 28 of the Drug Law in this specific case.
The case judged today reached the STF through an appeal by the Rio Grande do Sul Public Defender’s Office against a decision by the state’s Criminal Appeals Panel, which had ordered the continuation of the criminal action against the woman. The Public Ministry maintains that the STF’s recent decision on Topic 506 does not apply to other drugs, such as cocaine.
In his vote, Gilmar highlights that, although the Theme 506 judgment dealt specifically with marijuana, the foundations adopted by the Court (low offensiveness of conduct, protection of privacy and the need to treat drug use as a public health issue, and not a criminal one) also apply to the new case.
For the minister, the amount seized is tiny and does not represent a real risk to the legal interest protected by the Drugs Law. For him, criminalization in these circumstances violates the principles of offensiveness, proportionality and insignificance, making the conduct materially atypical.
The trial was interrupted after a request from minister André Mendonça.
