Política proibicionista-criminal de guerra às drogas no Brasil: consequências e possibilidades

Abstract

This article seeks to demonstrate that the war on drugs policy implemented in Brazil, inspired by the unsuccessful U.S. initiative introduced in the 1970s, has failed in all its aspects: it has been unable to curb the trade in substances made illegal, has not reduced the consumption of such substances in the country, and has proven to be highly selective and repressive toward marginalized ethnic and social groups. In this regard, the article analyzes the phenomenon of the war on drugs in Brazil from the perspective of critical criminology, identifying as consequences of this phenomenon penal selectivity characterized by institutional racism and social cleansing, mass incarceration, and the construction of the enemy as someone deemed unworthy of life. Considering drug-related issues primarily as a matter of public health—not merely public security—the study argues that a non-prohibitionist policy based on the regulation of drug production, distribution, trade, and consumption, as well as on harm reduction, represents a more effective approach to mitigating the harmful effects caused by a war-oriented policy.