The marijuana market cannot be controlled by large groups; the less fortunate should be the ones to benefit, says Pedro Abramovay.

247 - The historical injustices of the war on drugs policy need to be corrected. The repression of drug trafficking in Latin America, often conducted with the support of the United States, has caused the veritable extermination of thousands of people in the region, while, within the United States itself, access to recreational marijuana use was already widespread.

This was the analysis made by the vice president of programs at the Open Society Foundations, Pedro Abramovay, during the panel "Medicinal Cannabis in Brazil, its Applications and Potential Benefits for the Health System," during the event "The National Drug Policy: A New Paradigm." The conference was held by... Brazil 247, TV 247 e Counsel, with support from the Prerogativas group, this Tuesday (18), in Brasília (DF).

The debate comes a day after the Supreme Federal Court (STF) concluded, in its virtual plenary session, the judgment on the decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use. The ministers unanimously decided to uphold the decision that decriminalizes possession of the substance, in addition to establishing a limit of 40 grams to differentiate users from traffickers.

According to Abramovay, the Supreme Court's decision puts Brazil in a position that many countries have already overcome more than a decade ago. "The Supreme Court's decision gives a feeling of 'welcome to the past.' We're more or less in 2010. This is already settled in most democracies around the world," he stated. 

He cited the example of the United States, where the change occurred gradually, from decriminalization in the states to full legalization. "As more states legalized, the greater the approval of legalization by the population," he explained.

Abramovay pointed out that, although consumption has increased in certain age groups in some places, in many US states it has decreased after legalization. 

According to him, Brazil needs to ensure that the transition to a new regulatory model does not repeat historical injustices. "Legalization should occur with participation, without barring anyone who has participated in this market, but in a way that includes these people so that they can benefit from it," he argued.

Abramovay warned of the risk of large corporations appropriating the legalized market, excluding the less fortunate. 

"It cannot be a process controlled by large economic groups, taking this away from the less fortunate people," he emphasized.

Another point he highlighted was the irreversibility of legalization, since regulation must be based on public health and the autonomy of individual decisions. "There's no going back once it's been legalized in other countries, because it's treated as a matter of health and respect for adult decisions," he argued.

Finally, Abramovay emphasized that there is still a strong international influence maintaining the prohibitionist policy. "But the external pressure is still so great to maintain the war," he concluded.

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