Japan criminalizes the recreational use of hashish and legalizes medical use.
The decision, announced last week, will take on December 12.
Although the possession and cultivation of marijuana is already illegal in Japan, the new law will also prohibit its use and impose a penalty of up to seven years for violators.
Currently, Japan does not impose sanctions for the consumption of hashish, in a component for farmers who can inadvertently enter into contact with the plant’s ingredients while growing it for hemp products. However, this technique has replaced due to expanding considerations that the lack of prohibition of use contributes to the construction of drug abuse in young people.
Last year, Japan saw a record 6,482 people investigated for cannabis-related criminal cases, an increase of 1,140 from last year. More than 70% of those investigated were teenagers and young adults in their 20s, according to police information reported through the Japanese news firm Kyodo News.
At the same time, Japan will allow the use of medical products derived from cannabis. Currently, those drugs are only legal for use in clinical trials. However, according to the Bangkok Post, patient advocacy teams have been pushing for cannabis-based CBD medications, which have already been approved in Europe and the United States to treat situations such as severe epilepsy, such as Epidiolex.
The measure marks a significant change in Japan’s hashish policy, whose objective is to deal with foreign medical advances and local considerations about misuse.
The new regulations come after multiple governmental discussions and studies conducted over the years, especially from 2020 to 2023. Several committees examined the necessity of updating cannabis regulations, with a focus on the expanding medical applications of the substance and the rising cannabis use among Japan’s youth.
The new law allows for the use of medical hashish, which is a primary replacement for Japan’s past ban on all medical use of hashish. The updated law also introduces thin consequences for the illegal use of hashish, classifying it as a narcotic under the narcotics control law. As a result, activities such as possessing, ingesting and importing hashish are now a subject of consequences similar to those imposed on other controlled substances.
Previously, Japan did not impose express consequences for the use of hashish, focusing the application of the Law on Property and Traffic. The law reviewed now considers the use of hashish as a criminal crime, with consequences comparable to those of other narcotics, which can reach the imprisonment. The Japanese government has noticed an increase in crimes related to hashish, especially among young people, which has resulted in more arrests and indicates a tendency to develop abuse.
In addition, the law imposes stricter regulations on hashish cultivation, requiring manufacturers to have a license. Different licenses are required for hashish intended for pharmaceutical or commercial use. In fact, producers will now be classified on the intended use of their hashish. A “Type 1 license” is required for hashish intended for commercial purposes, while a “Type 2 license” is required for hashish used in pharmaceuticals. Producers will have to comply with strict rules related to the THC content of their crops and products, and the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare will have to approve any studies or imports of seeds.
Although the law prohibits the use of medicinal cannabis, it regulates those drugs as narcotics under the Narcotics Control Act, ensuring their controlled medical application.
However, those changes, according to the government, maintain classic hemp cultivation in Japan along with new regulatory requirements, adding the continued legal use of hemp in classical ceremonies.
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