Photo/Illutration Marijuana plants growing wild in Aomori Prefecture in July (Kazuhiro Fujitani)

A revision of the Cannabis Control Law, lifting the ban on pharmaceuticals derived from the marijuana plant but establishing a new crime for the use of marijuana, was passed by a majority vote in the Upper House on Dec. 6.

Before the revision, the existing cannabis law prohibited administering or taking medicines made from marijuana plants. The revised law deleted this provision on pharmaceuticals and reclassified marijuana under the category of “narcotics” in the Narcotics Control Law.

By doing so, medicines derived from cannabis plants can be legally used in Japan once their efficacy and safety are confirmed and approved by the pharmaceutical affairs bodies.

Marijuana has ingredients that are expected to be effective in the treatment of epilepsy and other disorders, so there had been growing calls for the ban to be lifted.

The main ingredients in marijuana are tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which causes hallucinations among other effects, and cannabidiol (CBD), which is less harmful and has antiepileptic effects.

Antiepileptic drugs using CBD are already being used overseas for treatment and clinical trials have begun in Japan.

In addition, the existing Cannabis Control Law prohibited the possession of marijuana but did not penalize its use.

The revised law applies the provisions of the Narcotics Control Law that makes unauthorized use a crime as well as possession punishable by “imprisonment for not more than seven years.”

Arrests for marijuana have increased more than for any other drug in recent years and abuse is spreading, particularly among young people.

In 2021, there were a record number of arrests with 5,783 and approximately 70 percent of those arrested were in their 20s or younger. It had been thought that the lack of charges for marijuana use led to abuse of the drug.

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