Japanese health authorities propose law change to allow import of medicinal cannabis

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said on September 29 that it was recommending an amendment to the country’s drug law, known as the Cannabis Control Act. According to Reuters, the agency has expressed the need to allow the import and approval of cannabis for medicinal use, which would bring it in line with other countries that already have medicinal cannabis programs in place.

Medicinal cannabis would be regulated like pharmaceuticals and “applies to marijuana products whose safety and efficacy have been established under drug and medical device laws,” according to Reuters.

According to translated documents released Sept. 28 by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, a large number of people have contributed to the review and recommendations, including professors and medical professionals. According to the report, only 1.4% of people in Japan say they have ever used cannabis. In Western countries, the consumer shares are between 20 and 40%.

In the United States, Epidiolex is the first CBD drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of children with epilepsy, specifically children suffering from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, Dravet syndrome, and tuberculosis complex . As of March 2019, Epidiolex began clinical trials in Japan, although there were no further reports or updates. The studies are exempt from the country’s cannabis control law, which prohibits the import/export and consumption of cannabis. At the time, the country reported having 3,000 residents suffering from Dravet syndrome and 4,300 suffering from Lennox-Gastaut syndrome.

As it stands, the Cannabis Control Act limits all forms of progress related to cannabis, including hemp.

In January 2021, the Hokkaido Industrial Hemp Association (HIHA) released a statement addressing the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s investigation into cannabis and other drugs. “The Cannabis Control Act is a deeply unreasonable law that bans all cannabis regardless of the amount or even the presence of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol, the active ingredient in marijuana, whose synthetic chemical substance is considered an illegal drug in Japan) and even restricts its cultivation from overseas hemp (see note below) that does not contain any of these substances,” HIHA wrote. “First of all, regarding the Cannabis Control Law and problems in its application, we would like to recommend the development of a more reasonable law formulated on the basis of discussions made available to the citizens of Japan and on scientific evidence.”

HIHA concluded that the Cannabis Control Act has prevented the hemp industry from flourishing since it was passed in 1948. “In order to develop a hemp industry on par with that overseas and to protect national interests related to industrial hemp, this country needs to revise the Cannabis Control Act and other related laws to properly position the hemp industry within the legal system and strike a balance between the control of finding drugs and promoting the industry.”

In August 2021, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare released a report detailing its recommendations for the approval of medical cannabis for patients. In early May this year, the ministry met again to continue the discussion on medicinal cannabis, address the need for treatment for those who abuse cannabis and how to address youth use.

In December 2021, gaming company Capcom partnered with the Osaka Prefectural Police Department to campaign against teenage cannabis use with its fictional character, Ace Attorney. According to Japan’s National Police Agency, 5,482 people were caught violating the country’s cannabis law (4,537 were in possession of cannabis, while 273 sold the plant illegally and 230 were arrested for illegal cultivation). Beatles band member Paul McCartney received an 11-year ban from Japan in 1980 for possessing half a pound of cannabis.