Comércio de varejo de substâncias psicoativas ilícitas: sentidos de sua prática criminalização seletiva

In: Passagens: international review of political history & legal culture, Band 13, Heft 2, S. 309-327

Abstract

The following article discusses various aspects of the trade of illicit psychoactive substances based on an analysis of reports obtained in semi-structured interviews with perpetrators of these practices and residents in the Greater Vitória region and the city of Piúma, both in the Brazilian state of Espírito Santo. By interviewing individuals condemned for drug trafficking, who found themselves at the time of the interviews serving time in an open scheme after a certain period of imprisonment, it was observed that they tended to return to such behavior for the same reasons that lead any young person to become involved in formal activities for generating income, which were, however, not available to this group. We discuss the disproportionality of the State's current treatment method and the problem of the trade of illicit substances, whose format has also adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding to encompass the delivery model.