Cannabis — Brazil

Carrying cannabis for your own use is no longer a crime in Brazil, but it is still illegal and police will confiscate it. Since a Supreme Court ruling in June 2024, up to 40 grams of cannabis or six female plants is presumed to be personal use: no arrest and no criminal record, just seizure plus a formal warning and a mandatory educational course applied in a proceeding with no criminal effect. That presumption can be rebutted - police can still arrest for trafficking below 40 grams where scales, packaging or messages suggest selling - and bringing cannabis into or out of Brazil, including while transiting an airport, is trafficking punishable by 5 to 15 years.

Personal possession of up to 40 g of cannabis or six female plants: no prison and no criminal record - the cannabis is seized and a judge applies a warning about the effects of drugs and attendance at an educational course, in a proceeding with no criminal effect (Lei 11.343/2006 art. 28, items I and III, as applied by the Supreme Court in RE 635.659). Above that amount, or with any indication of dealing, the charge is trafficking under art. 33: 5 to 15 years imprisonment and 500 to 1,500 day-fines, increased by one sixth to two thirds where the circumstances show the offence crossed a border (art. 40, item I). Importing or exporting cannabis in any quantity is trafficking, not possession.