 Japan has had a zero-tolerance policy on the recreational use of marijuana for close to 75 years. The government has even asked citizens to refrain from using cannabis outside of the country, when visiting fully legal locations such as Canada.
The strict penalties for cannabis violations include the potential of serving up to five years in prison and a possible fine of nearly $20,000 just for using marijuana. Even if it’s for medical use! The government does enforce it, too. There have been several cases of celebrities that have been caught and prosecuted, including extremely popular musicians and pop singers, tv personalities and movie actors, Olympic athletes, and even a top politician. But on the other side of things, non-psychoactive, hemp-derived CBD is legal in Japan, and has been quickly growing in popularity for it’s use in supplements and cosmetics. The country's CBD industry has grown rapidly, from $3 million in 2015, to $59 million in 2019 (according to Tokyo-based research firm Visiongraph). And now, a Japanese health ministry panel has just recommended that their government revise laws to allow for medicines to be able to use components of cannabis. A health ministry official told the American Foreign Press that this would help ensure their growing CBD industry is not restricted. The panel also called for the current blanket ban on cannabis plants to be changed to a ban only on the psychoactive substance THC. And, they also suggested that current criminalization laws be tightened on recreational use. The panel's recommendations will now be taken up by the government and changes to the law will come only after a bill is submitted to the Parliament and approved by lawmakers. Comments are closed.
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