In Japan, there had been no penalties for marijuana use until the revision of the Cannabis Control Law (which, in my opinion, worsened the situation), imposing criminal penalties for its use. This move goes against the global trend. However, stringent conditions have been set to allow for medical use of marijuana.
Among Japan’s political parties, only the “Reiwa Shinsengumi” publicly opposed the application of criminal penalties for marijuana use, as stated below.
The leader of this party, Taro Yamamoto, is a former actor. He was awakened by the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011 and transitioned into politics with an anti-nuclear stance as his banner. He executed a strategy to get severely disabled individuals into the parliament rather than focusing solely on his own election. As a result, for the first time in Japan, an ALS patient and an individual with severe cerebral palsy became members of parliament. While Yamamoto himself failed to win in that election, he later became a member of parliament in the following election. This also resulted in an increase of one wheelchair-user member in the parliament.
[Statement] Reasons for Opposing the Amendment to the Cannabis Control Law (Reiwa Shinsengumi, November 14, 2023)
The Reiwa Shinsengumi opposed the amendment to the Cannabis Control Law, which was approved by a majority in today’s House of Representatives plenary session.
We support the legalization of medical marijuana under this law amendment. This is due to the recognized medical benefits, particularly for conditions such as refractory epilepsy.
However, we opposed the bill because it introduces the offense of “possession for personal use,” punishing offenders with up to seven years’ imprisonment, whereas previously there were no penalties. This presents a significant issue.
When a government criminalizes an act, especially with severe penalties, it must proceed with caution. It is crucial to consider both pro and con opinions and engage in thorough discussions. Unfortunately, such sincere efforts seem lacking, with a clear push towards harsher penalties.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare set up a committee consisting of several experts in both 2021 and 2022, under different names, to consider the creation of penalties for marijuana use. In the 2021 report, three members strongly opposed the creation of such penalties.
In 2022, a new committee with similar objectives was established, but none of the members who opposed the penalties the previous year were selected.
In the 2022 report, all committee members agreed on penalties for marijuana use. Examining the substance of these discussions raises suspicions that the government arbitrarily selected expert committee members and led the discussions with the intent of establishing penalties for marijuana use.
In Japan, the harmfulness of marijuana is strongly emphasized alongside the slogan “No. Absolutely not.”
However, reality may differ. According to a paper published in the prestigious medical journal “The Lancet” (November 2010), if the maximum harm of drugs is rated as 100, alcohol ranks highest at 72. Heroin follows at 55, crack cocaine (primarily in crystal form) at 54, methamphetamine at 33, cocaine (primarily in powder form) at 27, and tobacco at 26. The harm of marijuana is even lower, at 20. Despite this, alcohol, the most harmful substance, is readily available in Japan, and many problematic behaviors associated with it are often excused.
In practice, it appears that various arbitrary statements and materials were provided during expert meetings aimed at creating penalties for marijuana use.
For example, the 2022 report of the Marijuana Regulation Study Committee mentioned the potential for marijuana to act as a “gateway drug.” If this were true, an increase in other drug-related offenses should be observed alongside the rise in marijuana arrests. However, data trends show the opposite; the number of methamphetamine-related arrests decreased by about half from 11,842 in 2012 to 6,289 in 2022. Consequently, the total number of drug-related arrests also decreased.
Furthermore, the National Institute on Drug Abuse in the United States has refuted theories such as marijuana being a “gateway drug,” suggesting instead that substances like alcohol and nicotine are more likely to act as such.
During the 2021 deliberations, arbitrary data was also provided. The study committee repeatedly mentioned the increase in traffic accidents in Colorado after marijuana legalization. However, they failed to mention the crucial fact that overall data for the entire legalized states in the U.S. showed no increase in traffic accidents. Committee members who opposed the creation of possession offenses later pointed out these discrepancies.
Behind the arbitrary discussions favoring the establishment of possession offenses, there are suspicions of bureaucratic ambitions such as expanding departmental powers, securing budgets, and boosting arrest records significantly through the creation of possession offenses.
If harsher penalties are to be promoted, legislative facts to justify them are necessary. However, advancing harsher penalties through arbitrary means without meeting these requirements is unacceptable.
The Reiwa Shinsengumi will submit an amendment proposal during the deliberations in the House of Councillors, proposing the removal of the newly established possession offense.
November 14, 2023
Reiwa Shinsengumi
Currently, Japan’s politics are in great turmoil due to the ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party’s slush fund scandal. It’s unbelievable for a democracy with a separation of powers, but the former secretary-general of the ruling party used 5 billion yen in slush funds over five years. No one other than himself knows where this money was spent because there is no obligation to report to the tax authorities. You may not be aware, but Japan is still in the Middle Ages.