MARCELO LEITE AND LUÍS FERNANDO TÓFOLI
SÃO PAULO AND CAMPINAS, SP (FOLHAPRESS)
Almost three quarters (72%) of Brazilians say they are against the legalization of marijuana for general use, including recreational use. There seems to be a significant change in relation to another Datafolha survey, from 2018, when 66% declared that smoking marijuana should remain prohibited.
This time, the institute interviewed 2,016 people over the age of 16, on September 12th and 13th, in 139 municipalities across Brazil. The margin of error is two percentage points, plus or minus.
The wording of the questions are different, which makes direct comparison difficult to conclude, with certainty, that the portion of the population refractory to legalization has increased. “Smoking”, after all, could be interpreted as decriminalization only of possession and not of the sale of cannabis.
The legalization of the use of marijuana as medicine, moreover, has broad support from those interviewed: 76% are in favor, and 22% against. There are 1% who are indifferent and 2% who have no opinion (the sum of percentages exceeds one hundred, in some cases, due to rounding).
A mere 1% of the population sampled by Datafolha claims to be currently using some cannabis-based medication, and 2% have already done so. In other words, 97% have never resorted to preparations with cannabidiol (CBD), tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other components of the psychoactive plant, which have been prescribed for conditions such as certain types of epilepsy.
Despite this, the level of information reported regarding medical marijuana is high. A total of 85% declared to have some knowledge on the subject, with 32% saying they were well informed, 42% more or less and 11% poorly informed. Another 13% said they were completely unaware of the topic, and 2% preferred not to give their opinion.
Consistent with the high support for medical marijuana, 2 out of 3 Brazilians (67%) support authorizing the cultivation of cannabis to produce medicines in Brazil. Although these medicines are already on sale here, after being licensed by Anvisa (National Health Surveillance Agency) in 2015, cultivation to obtain raw materials for pharmacological use remains prohibited by law.
There are only judicial decisions, some of them from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), authorizing planting. The beneficiaries are generally patient and family associations, which win lawsuits filed based on the constitutional right to health.
Bill 399/2015, which provides for the cultivation of marijuana for medicinal purposes, was approved by a special committee of the Chamber of Deputies in 2021. Since then it has been on hold, awaiting deliberation by five other committees.
Datafolha asked, in a more direct relationship with recreational use, whether those interviewed were in favor or against decriminalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana. In other words, stop treating as crimes and applying penalties to those caught with volumes for personal consumption.
Today the law does not set quantitative criteria for this, and, as a result, magistrates end up sentencing several users to prison as drug dealers. From 2005 to 2022, the proportion of people incarcerated for trafficking increased from 14% to 30%.
Informed that the Federal Supreme Court (STF) is judging a case that could decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana, 61% told Datafolha that they were against no longer considering possession as a crime. Only 36% support the proposal, which had five favorable votes from ministers when the trial was halted a month ago.
Only the richest Brazilians, with incomes exceeding ten minimum wages, overwhelmingly support (55%) the decriminalization of possession. Another contingent that comes close to this are young people aged 16 to 24, with 50%.
Among those with an income of less than two minimum wages, less than a third (32%) declare themselves in favor of decriminalization. Among evangelicals, the share is even smaller: 27%.
The dividing line, then, is clearly moral, or ideological. Of those interviewed who declared their vote for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), 45% said they were in favor of decriminalizing small quantities, compared to 23% among those who voted for Jair Bolsonaro (PL); Those against this are, respectively, 52% and 75% – the majority against decriminalization, in both cases.
These convictions in public opinion in Brazil contrast with those observed in the USA, a country in which 23 states and the capital (Washington, DC) have regulated adult consumption of marijuana, and 38, medicinal use. There, 59% of the population supports legalizing marijuana for both recreational and medicinal purposes, according to a 2022 Pew survey.
Another 30% of Americans admit that cannabis is regulated only as a medicine. It is worth saying, there is a large majority (89%) in favor of some type of legalization. The reversal in opinions occurred in 2013, when the contingent in favor of legalizing recreational use reached 52% (in 1969, a year before Richard Nixon declared the War on Drugs, it was 12%).
At present, no less than half of the American adult population says they have tried marijuana, according to research aggregator Gallup (in 1970 only 4% admitted this). Of these, 17% declare themselves to be current cannabis smokers.
In Brazil today, according to this Datafolha survey, 22% say they have smoked marijuana at some point in their lives. Another 5% declare that they currently smoke.
The data on those who have tried marijuana at some point is higher than that found in other national surveys. The 2nd National Alcohol and Drug Survey of 2012, for example, showed a prevalence of 6.8% among adults.
The 1st National Survey on the Use of Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs among University Students in the 27 Brazilian Capitals, in 2010, showed 26.1%. University students make up a younger contingent, with higher income than the population average, and are more inclined to experiment with marijuana and other drugs.
As in the United States, the refractory attitude of Brazilians towards the decriminalization of personal possession (61% against) and the legalization of adult use (72%) may cool down as draconian regulations are liberalized. The impetus for change could come, here as there, from the receptivity to medical marijuana.
Not only are 76% of Brazilians declaring their position in favor of medicinal cannabis, but a significant portion of those interviewed admit that they are or have been treated with it (which currently covers only 3% of those interviewed). A total of 81% would accept a recommendation from a trusted doctor, compared to 14% who would refuse.
There is one vote left in the Supreme Court for these barriers to begin to fall. It seems unlikely that all remaining ministers will end up voting on the issue with an eye on the past and the most conservative part of the electorate.
The post Majority says they are against recreational use of marijuana, but in favor of medicinal marijuana, according to Datafolha appeared first in Jornal de Brasília.
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