THE DECRIMINALIZATION OF MARIJUANA POSSESSION FOR PERSONAL USE BY THE BRAZILIAN SUPREME COURT: A HOBBESIAN ANALYSIS

Abstract

This article sought to critically analyze Brazil’s prohibitionist drug policy and the decriminalization of marijuana possession for personal use by the Brazilian Supreme Court, based on the Hobbesian conception of security and the limits of state power. A qualitative, bibliographic, and documentary approach was adopted, articulating Thomas Hobbes’s political theory with the critical criminal law contributions of Salo de Carvalho, Luciana Boiteux, and Luís Carlos Valois, alongside an examination of the judgment in Extraordinary Appeal 635,659. The results indicate that the prohibitionist model, sustained by the discourse of protecting social order, expands discretion within the criminal justice system, reinforces penal selectivity, and imposes disproportionate restrictions on autonomy, privacy, and dignity. From a Hobbesian perspective, security legitimizes the exercise of state power insofar as it is directed toward protecting individuals and does not justify the unrestricted suppression of liberties. It is concluded that the Supreme Court’s decision represents a significant restraint on punitive power by reconciling the protection of social order with fundamental rights and reaffirming individual guarantees as a condition for the legitimacy of state action.his article aims to discuss the appreciation of the brand's defense strategy and its reputation for the corporate institution's image in the face of attacks and criticisms of the quality of its products and services, inevitably exposing its brands in social networks. The work evaluates the interaction of the organizations with the users in order to fulfill the mission of defending their brand in the face of judgments that may negatively expose the products and services of the brand that over the years struggles to survive the current economic situations of the country.