crime

Oregon woman detained over prescription drug released

31 Comments

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31 Comments
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hmm, she could get the same medicine should she went to the hospital but wait she has no insurance yet...tricky

No she couldn't, Adderall is illegal in Japan.

15 ( +18 / -3 )

There are legal ways to get ADHD medications in Japan, but the requirements for getting them are notoriously strict and rigid. Currently, the only two drugs currently available are Ritalin and Strattera, and even these are only available to children newly diagnosed with ADHD prior to their 18th birthday. So, if you're an adult diagnosed with ADHD while in Japan, you're out of luck. Adderall, btw, still remains entirely prohibited, as Justin pointed out, no matter how much paperwork you fill out.

In the meantime, it's unquestionable that Japan's drug laws can be ridiculously harsh. I won't even get into discussing the absurd amount ADD drugs one would need to create even a gram of useable methamphetamine, not to mention how much higher the cost of using prescription ADHD drugs, as opposed to far more readily accessible over-the-counter meds, would drive up the street price of the illegal byproduct. In other words, the likelihood that Ms. Russell was seeking to be a newly minted Walter White is almost nil.

However, the degree of arrogance and stupidity required to try and to pull one over on Japanese customs by very obviously sneaking even a legitimate drug prescription into Japan is mind-staggering. There isn't a company or organization in Japan that doesn't provide detailed training to newly hired foreign teachers that warns of precisely this scenario. In fact, I can all but guarantee this woman's case will be quickly incorporated into training literature for the upcoming spring batch of new hires this month as a "teachable moment."

Glad this woman was finally released, but a lot of stress and hand-wringing could have been avoided, and the girl's nascent adventure as an ALT in Japan could have been saved if she had applied even a modicum of comon sense.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Each individual is responsible for knowing and following the laws where they live. No excuses.

7 ( +11 / -4 )

@Disillusioned the validity of those outdated policies aside, she still knew that it was illegal, instead of just sending them normally, and play the i didn't know card.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

must suck to be a Japanese dude/gal with ADD then..that's the go-to treatment. They could also help alleviate all the allergies by simply approving more antihistamines like Benadryl..instead of letting silly masks dominate the day.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I think that she is very lucky to have gotten off as easy as she did. If ignorance of Japanese law was really the case, then shame on her for not bothering to look it up. If she willingly knew - even worse.

Adderall is to my knowledge one of the most commonly prescribed drugs for ADD. If it is illegal in Japan, what is the most common Japanese medication for treatment of it? Or is it just another mental disorder that is just swept under the carpet and ignored?

3 ( +5 / -2 )

I don't believe she innocently had drugs shipped to her and didn't know better. She knew this was illegal in Japan and tried to hide them by putting them in a different container.

She's very, very lucky to get away with such a small stint in detention.

2 ( +14 / -11 )

"There is no ADD in Japan." True, as there isn't in America either. Japan does not buy into the Neo Liberal made up diseases that America indulges in. Good for big pharma though.

Spot on, my friend.

2 ( +7 / -6 )

It really seems like she tried to pull a fast one, and got bailed out because she's affluent, pretty, and white. Tale as old as time. Lucky she didn't try it in Singapore or other places in Asia that are even more zero tolerance about messing with their drug laws.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Is this drug "illegal", or has it not been approved by the Ministry of Health? If it has not been approved, there is a system whereby individuals can import the drug from, for example, the US for individual use. You just have to file a little paperwork. A US employee needed it for a cancer drug, which he got with no problems. I don't know the details of the system.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

poor girl, now she'll need to add to her list of psychopharmaceuticals stuff for post traumatic stress and probably depression.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Yeah, it is illegal in Japan, but do you know why? It was an abused drug in the post war era and nearly everybody was chowing down on it like candy. It was an 'over the counter' medication. So, in the ultimate wisdom of the Japanese government, instead of controlling it distribution by making it a prescription drug they totally banned it and any medications containing it. It is a very useful drug, especially in the treatment of colds and flu. It's also good for hangovers. Japanese cold and flu medications are useless! Most of the ones I have tried just make you feel worse. The laws for this drug should be updated and it should be available by prescription for cold, flu and allergy sufferers.

1 ( +11 / -10 )

"There is no ADD in Japan." True, as there isn't in America either. Japan does not buy into the Neo Liberal made up diseases that America indulges in. Good for big pharma though.

1 ( +10 / -10 )

American Lip Balm is illegal here too. Learn the laws kids.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

So--does clinical depression exist in Japan? I know it's real because I know a young girl who has suffered from it since the age of 13. And it is VERY real. I wish it were imaginary.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

American Lip Balm is illegal here too. Learn the laws kids.

Which ones? I often see Carmex and Blistex her

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This is one thing that would change with the adoption of the TPP. In a few years this would have never been news.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I don't know why you think it's a liberal thing. I'm as big a liberal as it gets, and I think ADD is a myth as well. Same with my other liberal friends who are teachers.

It is not a myth, ADD is without a doubt over diagnosed but that was mainly because there wasn't really a way to physically test someone if they have it. Although there still isn't a physical test that will prove beyond a doubt that you have ADD that is very strong evidence that has been building over the past few decades that ADD/ADHD is a brain development "defect" in that the frontal cortex or frontal lobe of the brain develops more slowly or completely stops developing prematurely compared to people who do not have it.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I don't know why you think it's a liberal thing. I'm as big a liberal as it gets, and I think ADD is a myth as well. Same with my other liberal friends who are teachers.

-4 ( +3 / -8 )

hmm, she could get the same medicine should she went to the hospital but wait she has no insurance yet...tricky

-5 ( +6 / -10 )

Japan's draconian drug laws.

-5 ( +11 / -15 )

Amidalism- There is no ADD in Japan.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

WHY would someone downvote Educator60's comment?

-14 ( +5 / -19 )

English teacher, ADD? Scary.

-16 ( +6 / -22 )

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