The supreme¹ court in Argentina has ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish people for using marijuana for personal consumption.

阿根廷最高法院裁定，在个人消费中使用大麻而遭到惩罚是违反宪法的。

The court said adults were free to make lifestyle decisions

The decision follows a case of five young men who were arrested with a few marijuana（大麻） cigarettes in their pockets.

But the court said use must not harm others and made it clear it did not advocate（主张，提倡） a complete decriminalisation.

Correspondents say there is a growing momentum²（动力，要素） in Latin America towards decriminalising drugs for personal use.

The Argentine court ruled that: "Each adult is free to make lifestyle decisions without the intervention³ of the state."

Supreme Court President Ricardo Lorenzetti said private behaviour was legal, "as long as it doesn't constitute（构成，组成） clear danger".

"The state cannot establish morality," he said.

The initiative has been supported by the government - Congress is expected to introduce amendments⁴ to the current drug laws.

But the court said it was not advocating a complete decriminalisation of the drug - a move possibly aimed at deflecting⁵（打歪，使偏） criticism from the Church and conservatives, says the BBC's Candace Piette in Buenos Aires.

The eight-page statement also called for a comprehensive policy against illegal drug trafficking（毒品走私）.

Health fears

The move has been criticised by some campaign groups who say it will encourage damaging behaviour and lead to health problems.

"There will be an increase in the drug trade and the people that fall into addiction⁶ will not, unfortunately, access treatment," Claudio Izaguirre, director of the Argentine Anti-drugs Association told Reuters.

"My country doesn't have the necessary health coverage⁷ for what will happen," he said.

Argentina's move follows rulings by several other countries across the region, including Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia.

Last week, Mexico enacted⁸（制定法律，扮演） a law decriminalising possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine⁹ and heroin¹⁰ - the country is in the midst of a drugs turf war（土地战） which has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the last three years.

The aim of such moves is to enable police to focus their efforts on the big criminals in the drugs trade rather than dealing¹¹ with petty（琐碎的，小规模的） cases, says our correspondent.

But it also marks a shift a dramatic regional shift to the decades-old US-backed policy of running repressive military-style wars on the drug trade, she adds.