Shibuya herb vendor raided after 3 teenagers fall ill

And it's doubtful the vendor has any idea what's in this stuff he's selling.

all younger than 17

And I thought the law was that minors weren't allowed to smoke? Were the teenagers scolded by the cops and investigators, or were they patted on the head with a "kawaiso ne~"?

It's illegal to smoke tobacco under 20 - surely if kids want to roll marjoram into rolling paper, they can! I've heard of these "herb shops", they sell stuff which has slipped under the radar of the drug listings, but can still pack quite a punch. It's a funny country, innit. It's only about a decade ago or so that Village Vanguard was selling mushrooms!

So he is a drug dealer and not a herb vendor.

What kind of genuine therapeutic herb vendor sells you stuff you can smoke??! Especially to children?! "Herb vendor". That's a good one! Sounds very respectable. Reminds me of the movie where the kid got busted for possession only to find he was smoking oregano by accident. The police released him and he went home, had a pizza and was high for a week!

Maria: "It's only about a decade ago or so that Village Vanguard was selling mushrooms!"

I was just thinking the same thing. I think they officially closed that loophole only 4 or 5 years ago, even! Yeah, it's bizarre that kids are allowed to stroll into these shops and buy substances to puff away on.

I have been hearing a lot about some shops selling Hemp and telling people its ok to smoke.

My guess is, it was Climax, or as it is known on the streets 'X'. There has recently been a flood of this stuff in Australia and the health authorities failed in their bid to have it listed as a controlled substance.

Ridiculous story. The teens clearly just smoked/drank too much of whatever herb he was selling them. The whole drug hysteria is crazy. If you really want to fry your brain, there are plenty of legal substances that will do that in the right amount. A trip to the local suupa will quite suffice, if you do your homework. And of course, an overdosis of anything will make you sick.

By the same logic, the cops might as well close every food store in the country. Dinwits.

The stuff is all over the US, commonly known there as "Spice." It's a sort of synthetic marijuana purported to be used as incense but really to be smoked. Completely unregulated, containing God knows what and manufactured who knows where with no over-site at all, the stuff is very, very unpredictable and thus to be avoided.

http://www.google.co.jp/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=synthetic+marijuana+incense

Legalize marijuana and those who need to get there kicks could at least do so safely.

Spice is all over Japan.

I liked the days when mushrooms were sold on the streets in Shibuya. I was a good customer.

i wonder if the spice was hennep

There have been confirmed deaths in the U.S. from this ! Talent Myley Cyrus was on some dopey video smoking that"Herb" not long ago as you can guess the vid went viral and sadly so did Too Many Kids!- Bad News,Indeed!

westernization is dope

NeoJamal, it sounds as if you are saying: "Long Live Boko Haram!"

Actually some of those ingredients mentioned above are incredibly dangerous.

Then again, pathetic kids haven't learned how to handle stuff, and being underage they cleverly get let off the hook (if it hasn't driven them loco) and the blame gets shifted onto the 'legal' herb shop instead.

1st world folks are smoking synthetic pot, and 3rd world folks are smokin' the real thing. Priceless.

HAHAHA CactusJack, you rock.

I think they just freaked out because the dope was too strong and they blamed the store owner.

Heh. "Spice" and other synthetic pot became such a problem in Japan that the U.S. Marine forces there were banned from possessing it two years ago. (From January 4, 2010):

A new punitive general order concerning the use of uncontrolled or un-regulated psychotropic substances by servicemembers has been disseminated by Commander Marine Corps Forces, Pacific (MARFORPAC). According to the order, the substances known as Spice and Salvia Divinorum are hereby prohibited to all servicemembers assigned within the MARFORPAC chain of command. The provisions of the order prohibit the actual or attempted possession, use, sale, distribution or manufacture of Spice, Salvia and any derivative, analogue or variant of either substance. For more information, visit your unit Substance Abuse Counseling Officer.

http://www.military.com/military-report/marines-ban-spice-drug

Yes, Shibuya another cesspool here in the big city of Tokyo, no surprise here!

It was most likely Salvia its popular here (U.S.) in headshops and it will make you trip your ass off. Plus there is no regulation whatsoever about the crap they put in it so there is no telling what they were smoking.

smoking a herb

It is possible that before smoking a herb, that they ate something bad like an apple, an egg or an orange.

Ben

I doubt whether eating fruit or eggs beforehand would have contributed to the kids getting ill.

A few years ago I saw a sign in front of a shop just off Center-Gai. Only one thing on the sign was written in English: Date rape drug. I suppose selling that was legal.

It takes a lot to shock me, but that did.

A famous person all over this week's news may have smoked this and suffered similarly, but a little bird tells me that such information is off topic, so I won't mention the name again.

Even illegal substances should come with a description of sorts, with an indication of what it contains, without which people should absolutely refuse to buy.

I used to buy catnip at the department store pet shop, twist it up and smoke it when I was 13. No great buzz and harsh on the throat.

Brainiac,

That is a good point. It probably was just an herb.