With the revising of a law on Dec. 6 to criminalize marijuana use, the long period where there was no crime against cannabis use is coming to an end in Japan. 

One reason why there was no legal penalty can be found in the lush remote forests in northern Japan.

HOT ON THE TRAIL

One day in late July, amid the sweltering heat, about 20 people were making their way through the thick underbrush in a mountain forest in Aomori Prefecture.

They were officials of the Aomori prefectural government and the health ministry’s drug enforcement department, cutting marijuana plants growing wild.

The posse continued to walk for a while. Then a shout was heard, “Come this way!”

It was a staff member walking at the front of the line.

The plants were taller than the height of an adult and were overgrown as far as the eye could see.

“This entire area, these are all marijuana!” the staffer said.

The officials stepped out into the towering marijuana “forest” before them.

One by one, they chopped at the base of each stem three or four times with a machete until the plant snapped and toppled.

After an hour’s work, they had a clearer view, and they could see the layers of cannabis plants that had been cut under their feet.

According to the health ministry, the total number of marijuana plants cut down nationwide between fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2022 was approximately 1.9 million. Hokkaido, Aomori and Iwate prefectures accounted for about 75 percent of the total.

In Aomori Prefecture, prefectural employees do the “harvesting” twice a week from June to August to prevent abuse through eradication of the wild cannabis. 

About 1,000 areas where marijuana plants are growing wild have been identified in the prefecture. But only 20 percent of these are being cultivated, prefectural officials said.

One factor in the spread of marijuana’s wild habitat is the decline in the number of legal growers.

In Japan, the fiber of hemp plants has long been used for clothing, fishing equipment and sacred “shimenawa” ropes for shrines. 

In 1948, the Cannabis Control Law was enacted, requiring a license for cultivation. In 1954, there were about 37,000 growers nationwide, but demand subsequently declined due to the spread of synthetic fibers.

The number of growers dropped to 27 by the end of 2021. The area under cultivation has shrunk to about one-500th of its peak.

It is believed that marijuana is growing wild mainly in areas where cultivators have disappeared and the area is no longer managed.

ACCIDENTAL HIGHS WHILE HARVESTING

Cultivators sometimes suffered “hemp intoxication,” or "asayoi," when they inhaled marijuana ingredients during harvesting. 

It is believed that the criminalization of marijuana use was not established at the time of the legislation to prevent farmers from being punished due to accidental asayoi intoxication.

However, during the health ministry’s investigation into revision of the law, officials did not detect any metabolites of marijuana ingredients in the urine of the growers after harvesting and did not confirm hemp intoxication.

Furthermore, marijuana abuse has spread in recent years, particularly among young people.

NO PENALTY SEEN AS ENCOURAGING USE

The Diet sought to check the abuse by passing a revision of the Cannabis Control Law on Dec. 6.

The current law was enacted shortly after World War II. It is believed that the crime of marijuana use was not established out of concern for industrial marijuana growers.

However, the situation surrounding marijuana growing has changed dramatically, and the spread of cannabis use among young people has led to the law's revision.

The number of marijuana-related arrests hit a record high of 5,783 in 2021 and 5,546 in 2022.

The percentage of marijuana arrests accounted for 40 percent of the total number of arrests for drugs as a whole in 2021. It increased to 44 percent in 2022.

Out of the total number of marijuana arrests, 53.4 percent were in their 20s and 17.1 percent were teenagers.

A panel of experts under the health ministry compiled a report regarding the revision of the law. The report noted that the absence of the crime of marijuana use “has lowered the hurdle to marijuana use in some situations.”

The report concluded that “it is difficult to find a rational reason not to impose penalties for the use of marijuana” when other illegal drugs, such as stimulants, carry criminal charges for usage.

In light of this, the central government decided to establish a new marijuana use offense.

However, during deliberations at the Upper House Committee on Health, welfare and Labor, it was pointed out that “if penalties were imposed, it would make it difficult for violators to seek counseling or reintegrate into society.”

In an additional resolution to the revised law, a call for efforts to provide treatment to prevent recidivism of users and support for their reintegration into society were included.