Brazil Culture Minister Gilberto Gil: "Legalize Marijuana"
Posted on Tue Feb 22nd, 2005 at 06:06:57 PM EST By Al Giordano Posted on Tue Feb 22nd, 2005 at 06:06:57 PM EST Veja (subscriber access only), the musician-turned-cabinet-member Gilberto Gil voiced his support for decriminalizing marijuana: In an interview with the Brazilian national news magazine(subscriber access only), the musician-turned-cabinet-member Gilberto Gil voiced his support for decriminalizing marijuana: "I believe that drugs should be treated like pharmaceuticals, legalized, although under the same regulations and monitoring as medicines... The Spaniard EFE news agency reports: Gil said that he has discussed the matter with other cabinet members and congressmen from the Workers Party (PT, in its Portuguese initials) that is led by (Brazilian President Lula da Silva)... Attorney General Marcio Thomaz Bastos has said that he shares the idea and that "the horizon of liberation (of marijuana consumption) is what we have ahead of us." Narco News Authentic Journalism Scholar Natalia Viana, in Sao Paulo, is preparing a report on the status of drug policy reforms promised by the Brazilian government last November but not yet delivered. Developing... Return to The Narcosphere Homepage
The Brazilian Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil, aged 62, said that he smoked marijuana until he was 50. In addition he defended the decriminalization of drug's consumption.

Gil took part in a press conference with journalists of ''Folha de São Paulo'' on Monday (May, 30). During the interview the Brazilian minister asked:"Why should drugs be forbidden?" He added that the drugs problem should be handled as a matter of public health. Gil had already defended the idea of decriminalization during a interview with Brazilian magazine Veja.

Gilberto Gil, and the drummer Chiquinho Azevedo, were arrested in 1976 in Florianópolis because they were carrying marijuana.

There is no consensus on decriminalization among Brazilians. Some people, like this Brazilian  Anti-drugs website, believe that psychoactive drugs are dangerous and can lead to health problems, including chemical dependence.