Japan Bans The Use Of Cannabis From This Week, The Threat Of A Sentence Of Up To 7 Years In Prison

JAKARTA - Japanese authorities began punishing the use of marijuana and tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive chemical found in the plant this week.

That is in line with the enactment of the revised law last Thursday, amid growing concerns over drug abuse by young people.

Although possession, transfer, and cultivation of marijuana and THC have been banned in Japan, the new law will establish it as narcotics and prohibit its use as well, with a prison sentence of up to seven years for offenses, quoted from Kyodo News December 12.

On the other hand, the revised law also legalizes medical products that use substances originating from marijuana that have proven effective and secure.

In 2023, 6,703 people were investigated in criminal cases involving marijuana in Japan, surpassing the number of methamphetamine cases for the first time, the Ministry of Health, Manpower and Welfare said.

Of these, as many as 74 percent of cases involved those under the age of 30.

Meanwhile, a national survey conducted in the same year by research groups of ministries estimated around 200,000 people had used marijuana last year.

Previously, Japan did not impose sanctions on the use of marijuana, perhaps taking into account farmers who may have accidentally absorbed the drug while growing cannabis plants for use in hemp products.

The change will also remove the ban on the use of drugs originating from marijuana, controlling them under a licensing system similar to other drugs used to relieve pain and other purposes.

It is known that cannabis plants are only permitted in clinical trials in Japan, but groups of patients have called for access to cannabidiol drugs originating from cannabis that have been approved in Europe and the United States for conditions such as severe epilepsy.

The previous marijuana law will be renamed and specifically focused on the regulations on cultivation.