Brazil

About this law

Law No. 11,343/2006, Brazil's anti-drug law, was enacted on 23 August 2006 and replaced the 1976 narcotics law. Its Article 28 moved possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use out of the criminal courts: instead of prison, a person caught with drugs for personal use can face a warning, community service or a required educational or treatment course, decided by a judge. Trafficking (Article 33) remains a crime carrying prison time. Its relevance to psychedelics: classic psychedelics such as psilocybin, DMT, LSD and mescaline are controlled under the health ministry's Portaria 344/1998 (the law linked above), so carrying them for personal use falls under Article 28's administrative regime rather than criminal prosecution, while growing, producing or selling them is treated as trafficking. The law does not name psychedelics specifically; it supplies the personal-use rules that apply to them. Religious use of ayahuasca is additionally protected by court decisions, which this law itself does not address.

Editor's context for readers — background, not quoted text.

Key sections

1. Law 11.343/2006 (Lei de Drogas), Art. 28 — personal use

   Art. 28. Quem adquirir, guardar, tiver em depósito, transportar ou trouxer consigo, para consumo pessoal, drogas sem autorização ou em desacordo com determinação legal ou regulamentar será submetido às seguintes penas: I - advertência sobre os efeitos das drogas; II - prestação de serviços à comunidade; III - medida educativa de comparecimento a programa ou curso educativo.

Quoted excerpts. The official document linked above is the authoritative text.