What model will Brazil use to decriminalize cannabis?

In a decision rendered on February 14, 2025, The Federal Supreme Court of Brazil (STF) decriminalized unanimously possession of cannabis for personal use - up to 40 grams or six female plants.

This decision marked a significant change in the country's approach to drug policy, but it also raises questions about the implementation, enforcement, and actual impact of cannabis decriminalization on social justice.

A ten-year legal battle

The Supreme Court's decision ended years of legal uncertainty that began with a 2011 case involving just 3 grams of cannabis. With this decision, the STF addressed the’article 28 of the Brazilian 2006 drug law, which until then criminalized any possession, even minor, often leading to a prison sentence or community service.

The judge Gilmar Mendes directed the decision, making a clear distinction between personal use and trafficking. From now on, individuals caught in possession of maximum of 40 grams are subject to administrative sanctions – warnings or prevention course - rather than criminal prosecution. However, the presence of scales, packaging, or records may still give rise to drug trafficking charges, punishable by sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years.

This reform comes as the Brazilian prison population exceeds 888,000 people, don't even more 200,000 are incarcerated for drug-related offenses, disproportionately affecting Black and poor Brazilians.

As reported by Agência Brasil, nearly 25% of them are in prison for minor possession, which highlights the systemic disparities between races and social classes.

A «health-focused» policy or a mask for coercion?

Following the STF's decision, the department Brazilian of justice and the National Council for Justice introduced a new drug policy « health-based ». Inspired – at least nominally – by the Portugal's decriminalization model, this approach removes personal property cases from criminal courts and assigns them to Access to Rights and Social Inclusion Centers.

But critics warn this framework could be more punitive than progressive. As a 2024 policy brief indicates, CAIS centres act as a form of drug court, whose staff is not made up of judges but of teams of social workers, paralegals, and healthcare personnel. While this seems like a human alternative on paper, in practice, it can function as a forced processing.

«If the team believes the person they are assessing presents a sufficient risk – perhaps due to their race, poverty, mental or behavioral health issues, or lack of documentation – that person could easily be steered toward treatment pathways that are neither effective nor voluntary, warned a source.

Therapeutic communities under surveillance

A large number of people who are oriented toward these centers should find themselves in faith-based therapeutic communities, which have been operating for a long time in Brazil with minimal regulation.

Human rights organizations have described these centers as forced labor camps, where conditions are often contrary to human dignity. Their close ties with the’Lula administration only exacerbate concerns about the politicization of addiction treatment.

In 2022, the former Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade, called for a complete overhaul of these communities, recommending an end to involuntary engagements and invest more in evidence-based practices. His dismissal in February 2025 and the removal of his report from official websites suggest that the development of science policy has been abandoned.

The Portuguese model: Misused inspiration?

The decriminalization of drugs in Portugal—often cited as a success—worked because it was combined with harm reduction programs, at the’public education and to voluntary and secular treatments. While Portuguese authorities confiscate drugs intended for personal use, treatment is never mandatory, and services such as the’needle exchange are common.

The Brazilian model of CAIS, on the other hand, lacks the necessary infrastructure and guarantees to ensure genuine reform. Only 22 centers are currently operational, and nearly 100 more are still under development. The video call assessment projects highlight the lack of resources and raise concerns about the fairness of the procedures and the level of individualized care.

Brazil is now at a crossroads: will it adopt a model rooted in harm reduction and social justice, or will it replace one punitive system with another?