In late March, a Brazilian appeals court in São Paulo declared that possession of illicit drugs for personal use was no criminal offense. The defendant possessed 7.7 grams of cocaine.
The court ruled that the law criminalizing possession or personal use was invalid because it contradicted the Constitution and international declarations of human rights. It also stated that the state held no authority to interfere with the individuals‘ private sphere, it being solely a matter of the individual, and use the individuals‘ personal choice.
After the drug law reform in 2006 possession got depenalized but not decriminalized.