The Rio de Janeiro City Council will vote, this week, on a bill that provides for an administrative fine for anyone caught using illicit drugs in any areas and public places in the city.
The measure, number 1,011/2022 and authored by councilor Dr. Rogério Amorim (PL), will be analyzed in the 1st discussion by the other parliamentarians. If approved, it will return for a new plenary debate soon and, if accepted again by the House, it will go to City Hall for sanction or veto.
The fine will initially be R$400. If the person is a repeat offender, the amount will be doubled each time the act is repeated. It is worth noting that the proposal does not indicate criminal measures for the offender.
Once notified of the obligation to pay the fine, the accused may choose to provide social/community services for a period of six months, with entities declared to be of public benefit indicated by the Municipality, with the enforceability of said fine being suspended while the activities continue.
According to the text, if the offender is under 18 years of age, responsibility for payment will fall to the parents or legal guardians, and the precepts of the Child and Adolescent Statute must be followed.
However, the administrative sanction will not be applied to anyone living on the streets, who will be referred to public assistance programs, appropriate for the treatment of chemical dependency and their peculiar situation of social vulnerability.
“With each passing day, drug use increases, putting the lives of our young people and the future of our families increasingly at risk. We need actions to prevent the misuse of drugs and also enable care and social reintegration of drug users and addicts. However, we immediately need to prevent it so we don’t have to cure it.”argues Rogério Amorim.
”Allowing drugs to be used on the seafront, in squares, parks and in any public place is allowing users to harm their own health, in addition to allowing users to serve as an example that can negatively influence our children and our young people”concludes the councilor.
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