Canna Beginners: How To Legally Use Cannabis In Japan

Japan has a long history of using herbal medicines, including cannabis and psychedelics, but like most of the world, it was forced to change its drug laws after World War II to align with those of the United States. Japan is now in a situation similar to that of the United States in the 1990s. Activists are fighting to educate society about this rich history and the medical cannabis industry in its early days.

Can you bring cannabis to Japan?

Before we get into Japanese cannabis laws, a word on the introduction of cannabis to Japan. This leaflet from Japan Customs makes it clear, “Don’t even think about bringing drugs into JAPAN!” Penalties vary by substance, and even legally prescribed opioids require prior approval from the Japanese government, otherwise you could be arrested upon entering the country. When it comes to cannabis, importing cannabis into Japan without intent to sell is punishable by up to seven years in prison, and potentially up to 10 years if it is sold with intent. Simply possessing cannabis is up to five years, and seven years if it is intended to be sold. In comparison, Japanese laws on the sale of opium are less restrictive than those on cannabis.

History of Cannabis Use in Japan

Japan has a long history with cannabis and hemp, dating back to the Jomon period (roughly 11,000-300 BC). Some of the earliest evidence of use comes from pottery recovered from Fukui Prefecture. Junichi Takayasu, who founded a cannabis museum in Tochigi Prefecture, is an expert on the history of cannabis in Japan and says: “Most Japanese see cannabis as a subculture of Japan, but they are wrong. Cannabis has been at the heart of Japanese culture for thousands of years.” In the millennia that followed, cannabis and hemp played an important role in Japanese culture. By the 20th century, hemp was used to make everything from clothing to sacred Shinto ropes and cannabis-based medicines available in drugstores.

Takayasu says that during World War II, “there was a saying among the military that the war couldn’t be fought without cannabis.” Everything changed after World War II, when Japan lost the war, the United States occupied Japan, and brought with it their prohibitive attitude toward drugs.

Hemp and Religious Use

Shintoism, the indigenous belief system of Japan that existed before historical records, is a spirituality that recognizes the divine spirit (kami) of things in nature such as trees, mountains, and waterfalls. Shinto translates to “the way of the gods” and celebrates the seasons by showing reverence through a small shrine near the nature spirit being honored. Shinto also includes rituals of purification, in which priests traditionally wave bundles of hemp leaves.

In addition to bundles of hemp leaves, Shinto shrines are adorned with shimenawa, a sacred rope made of hemp. Given the importance of hemp to Shinto practitioners, although cannabis cultivation is very tightly regulated in Japan, there is a special license for people who grow hemp to make shimenawa.

CBD is legal but limited

Thanks to a loophole in Japan’s cannabis control law, hemp-derived CBD products have been legal since 2013, provided they meet certain requirements. First, it is virtually impossible to extract CBD from hemp grown in Japan, so all legal CBD products are imported, and those imported products must certify that they are THC-free. Second, the only legal CBD in Japan can only be obtained from the stem and seeds, meaning that unlike France, CBD flower is not legal.

Despite these limitations, a Tokyo-based research group estimates that the Japanese CBD industry was valued at US$59 million in 2019, almost twenty times its value in 2015. Future projections suggest that the CBD industry in Japan could reach US$800 million by 2024. One reason for this growth is that, just like in the US, clever chemists are converting CBD into THC-O and a host of other cannabinoids.

Medicinal cannabis is still a work in progress

While CBD is currently legal for some uses in Japan, they have not yet completed their attempts at medical legalization, which began in 2021 when the Ministry of Health announced a plan for possible cannabis control law reform. Part of this reform effort included the establishment of a committee of experts, and these experts recommended various reforms, including the legalization of medicinal cannabis. Currently, the cannabis control law uses a part-based system, where certain parts of the plant are prohibited or legal (and where the current CBD gap comes from). Experts hope the current reforms could include a move to an ingredient-based system (taking only cannabinoid content into account). Benefits of this shift could include the legalization of smoked or vaped CBD flower, or possibly the emergence of a medicinal cannabis industry.

Psychedelics in Japan

Despite extremely restrictive laws surrounding cannabis, psychedelic mushrooms, peyote, and other hallucinogens were legal in Japan until 2002. These psychedelic plants were sold by street vendors and in vending machines in “love hotels,” and there was a generally permissive attitude towards herbal psychedelics. That all changed in 2002 when Japanese authorities changed the law and closed the loophole regarding herbal psychedelics, possibly because the soccer World Cup raised concerns about hordes of soccer hooligans high on shrooms. These enterprising street vendors have not gone out of business and are now selling “dappou herb,” ​​an idea similar to spices or bath salts (the quasi-legal drugs), plant matter sprayed with substances similar to other drugs (stimulants, cannabinoids, hallucinogens, etc.).