Brazilian Federal Supreme Court Ignores Vape, Hashish, and Oil in Decriminalization of Marijuana Trial
Justices who have already voted did not analyze other forms of cannabis consumption; the trial can be resumed this Thursday (17)
Vaporizer pens, edible oils, intimate lubricants, and hashish of the dry and ice type are some of the new forms of marijuana consumption in addition to marijuana cigarettes, wrapped in tissue paper, which dominate the imagination when it comes to the plant of the Cannabis sativa family. They have become popular in Brazil since 2015, the year in which the Federal Supreme Court (STF) began the trial of Extraordinary Appeal 635659, which deals with the decriminalization of drug possession for personal consumption.
The trial is due to resume this Thursday (17). Eight years after the first session of the case, four Justices have voted in favor of some form of decriminalization of drug use: Gilmar Mendes, Edson Fachin, Luís Roberto Barroso, and Alexandre de Moraes.
Three of them narrowed their decisions to marijuana only. Barroso has defined the possession of 25 grams of marijuana or six female plants as a provisional criterion to differentiate dealers from users. Moraes expanded this criterion to up to 60 grams of marijuana or six female plants but stressed that quantity will not be the only criterion for the verification of user status.
The quantitative measure pointed out by the Justices refers to marijuana in natura, that is, its leaves and flowers, but it does not apply to other consumption formats that have been gaining traction in the Brazilian non-medical adult-use market, such as vaporizer pens or vapes –as well as new types of hashish.
Translated by Cassy Dias