While Japan could allow cannabis-derived medicines as soon as this year, there’s little sign that politicians or the public back further relaxation of the rules
With its zero-tolerance cannabis laws, deep social stigma against the drug and moves to tighten rules on consumption, Japan is no stoner’s paradise.
But you wouldn’t guess it watching Ai Takahashi and her friends twerking, body-rolling and lighting up to the weed anthem “Young, Wild & Free” at a tiny, packed club in Tokyo.
“When I was a child, I was taught at school and everywhere else that marijuana is an absolute no-no, and that’s what I believed too,” Takahashi told AFP.
The 33-year-old dancer later became interested in CBD, which is legal in Japan if extracted from the plant’s seeds or fully-grown stems, but not other parts like the leaves.
When Takahashi encouraged her mother, who was struggling with depression, to try CBD, it made a big difference, she said.
Japan’s CBD industry had an estimated value of $59 million in 2019, up from $3 million in 2015, says Tokyo-based research firm Visiongraph.
But despite its budding interest in the plant’s health benefits, the country is not getting softer on illegal use, with cannabis arrests hitting records each year.
It’s a curious contrast that has led Norihiko Hayashi, who sells products containing cannabinoids like CBD and CBN in sleek black and silver packaging, to advise discretion.
Hayashi thinks Japan could eventually legalise marijuana for medical purposes.
A growing…