If Japan legalizes medical marijuana, what will that mean for the rest of Asia?

Thursday’s recommendation by a Health Department panel to allow cannabis-based drugs could herald a historic change to the country’s strict drug laws. Because the group lobbied for tougher laws against non-medical marijuana use, the change may not affect Japan’s zero-tolerance approach to recreational marijuana use.

The Health Ministry’s expert panel on Thursday recommended the government change laws to allow the import and manufacture of medicines formulated with cannabis-derived chemicals. But it also pushed for stricter regulations to clarify that recreational cannabis use is against the law.

Paul McCartney, a former Beatles member, was detained for nine days in 1980 after marijuana was found in his luggage. Other international celebrities have also suffered under Japan’s tough anti-cannabis laws. The government, meanwhile, has debated whether to allow the use of cannabis-based medicines, which are already being used in many other countries to treat conditions such as severe epilepsy.

Panel Recommendations

Offenses related to possessing, growing, or selling marijuana in Japan can carry 10-year prison terms, although recreational marijuana use is no longer illegal in Canada, some US states, and some European countries. Only 1.4% of people have tried cannabis, according to a study using data from 2017. When celebrities are arrested for possession, the news is usually on the main page.

As an example, the Health Ministry panel highlighted the cannabis-based drug Epidiolex. Epidiolex has received Japanese approval for domestic clinical trials. The committee claimed that the limitations of the current Cannabis Control Act would not allow physicians to prescribe such treatments, even if the Department of Health eventually approved them.

The panel also called for the existing total ban on cannabis plants to be changed to a ban on THC. According to a Health Ministry official, this would ensure that the burgeoning CBD business would not be curtailed. They stated that “CBD should be legal as it is already used in dietary supplements and cosmetics”.

Some cannabidiol (CBD) products are legal in Japan as long as they are made entirely from stems or seeds. Medicines and other products made from other parts of the plant are still prohibited even after the psychoactive substance has been removed. To meet medical needs and change global standards, the panel emphasized changing the country’s cannabis laws.

The proposed revision would subject medicinal cannabis products to the same efficacy and safety regulations as those governing medicinal and pharmaceutical standards.

The panel also found in its study that only 1.4% of Japanese have ever used cannabis, in contrast to 20-40% in western countries. Almost half (48%) of American adults say they have used marijuana, according to a Gallup poll released in August. Cannabis consumption is legal in Japan, but cultivation, importation, sale and possession are legally illegal. Also legal are CBD products made directly from stems or seeds.

According to the Ministry of Health, the group’s recommendations will be taken into account and the government can implement some provisions. However, no legislative changes come into force until a bill has been submitted to Parliament and approved by parliamentarians. While Japan may consider legalizing medical marijuana, its stance on marijuana for adult use remains steadfast.

Japan’s CBD Industry

According to Tokyo-based research firm Visiongraph, the value of Japan’s CBD market is expected to reach $59 million in 2019, up from $3 million in 2015. The government is also looking into legalizing marijuana-based drugs already in use in approved in many other countries to treat conditions such as severe epilepsy.

Despite the nation’s growing interest in the health benefits of cannabis, arrests of cannabis are still breaking records each year, suggesting the country is not becoming more tolerant of illegal use. Statista reports show that this year more than four times the number of arrests were made compared to 2014 – Japanese police have made 5,482 cannabis-related arrests since 2021.

Tokyo’s zero-tolerance marijuana policy, the lingering societal stigma against marijuana use, and the city’s efforts to impose stricter restrictions on its use make it less of a stoner’s paradise. However, if you go to a small, crowded Tokyo club at night, you might find it hard to believe when you see young people twerking, body rolling and glowing to the weed anthem “Young, Wild & Free”. .

Instead of smoking illegal marijuana, you inhale a joint laced with cannabidiol (CBD), a non-intoxicating ingredient in cannabis that’s rapidly gaining popularity in Japan. Speaking to AFP, Ai Takahashi, 33, claimed she was taught in school and elsewhere that marijuana was a total no-go, and believed it too.

Takahashi urged her mother, who suffered from depression, to try CBD and it had a significant impact. She noted that at this point she was confident in the potency of cannabis.

Norihiko Hayashi, who sells cannabinoids like CBD and CBN in sleek black and silver packaging, advises caution for Japanese cannabis users.

“It’s legal, but we ask customers to consume it at home. Don’t smoke it on the street,” the 37-year-old explained. Hayashi believes Japan will eventually legalize medical marijuana. But what about the rest? “Never. Not in almost a century. Maybe I’ll be gone by then.”

A growing number of countries, from Canada to South Africa and most recently Thailand, are taking a more lenient stance towards marijuana. Thailand went one step further this June, becoming the second Asian country to legalize government-based adult-use cannabis. In contrast, Indonesian courts in July rejected a judicial review of the country’s narcotics laws and prospective legalization of medicinal cannabis. Cannabis is still banned in China.

bottom line

Harsh penalties for cannabis-related offenses are common in Asia. So when Japan signed its cannabis control law in 1948, it wasn’t an outlier. The country is trying to change the norm now that people are being drawn to cannabis in droves for its medicinal and health benefits. If Parliament agrees to the panel’s proposals, it will fill a loophole originally left open to prevent law enforcement from arresting cannabis farmers.

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