Police in Kyoto on Wednesday arrested the 17-year-old brother of a 12-year-old boy who admitted to a teacher that he had smoked marijuana.
According to the Kyoto Municipal Board of Education, the school had a disciplinary session with three students who were caught smoking tobacco at the beginning of October, Fuji TV reported. One of them - the 12-year-old boy -- was found with a few cigarettes in his rucksack on Oct 14. The boy then confessed to his teacher that he had smoked marijuana as well in the past, although none was found on him or in his bag.
Police said they questioned the boy over where and when he obtained the marijuana and how he used it, and the boy told them he found the marijuana on a book shelf in his brother's room at home. He said he had smoked marijuana four times since September.
The boys' father said he was unaware his sons were smoking pot.
Police searched the brother's room on Wednesday and found marijuana. The brother faces a charge of violating the Cannabis Control Act. The 12-year-old boy is still attending school.
The school principal told local media: "This incident left me speechless." He also said schools needed to thoroughly teach children how dangerous drug use can be.
© Japan Today
72 Comments
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nandakandamanda
The police and the school authorities have pulled up more of the story. He said he had smoked his 17-yr-old older brother's stuff, so the police have since raided their home and confiscated what they found there.
This reminds me of a friend telling me at high school that he and another guy had gone into town and smoked some stuff called hash. Feeling priviliged just to be in the know, I never thought to tell the authorities, even though as a senior I held a resonsible position at the time. And that was almost exactly 50 years ago.
Aaron Lloyd Brummett
Legalize it! He did nothing wrong!
SenseNotSoCommon
Can't disagree. Will they be taught by rote, or some method to advance critical thinking?
Christopher Glen
This only makes news because it's in Japan. In western countries this wouldn't even be printed
PTownsend
Glad to hear the school is cracking down on smoking tobacco.
nath
While children most definitely shouldn't be smoking marijuana, this statement is just hyperbole.
crustpunker
Tru, I would agree.........
if marijuana were actually a drug.
smartacus
12 years old is too young for anyone to be smoking marijuana, no matter which side of the issue you are on.
Aly Rustom
As opposed to the wonderful world of alcohol where there are no problems at all.
nandakandamanda
If the laws are this strict, I expect young people will be tempted to sniff butane, thinners, paint, glue, etc. together, or smoke 'legal' herbs or other such safe alternatives.
Laguna
Don't laugh. Marijuana is totally a gateway drug to excessive donut consumption - which then leads to pizza.
DongHungLo
Big brother not going to be pleased with little brother for squealing like a pig. Look for next weeks headline: 17 year old stabs 12 year old brother in middle of night for snitching him out.
khulifi
At 12 years he smoke marijuana ... Parent job well done
Jalapeno
Just move to Colorado, Washington, or Oregon.
nakanoguy01
perhaps you have been smoking too much of it yourself because even where marijuana is legal, twelve is still too young to smoke it. so he still broke the law.
HongoTAFEinmate
Reefer madness hits Japan. What was the name of the chicken that ran around screaming "the sky is falling". Also, I hate to be a prude, but I seem to remember the Lancet (the British Medical Journal) publishing an article that linked the smoking of mary jane with an increased incidence of psychosis.
TheGodfather
And then you pass it on...
IfeelImust
So the 12 year old grassed on his brother who he'll be visiting in the joint.
Alex Einz
wow, little snitch
nath
Correlation, not causation. Marijuana can cause episodes of schizophrenia in those already predisposed to it, but it does not cause schizophrenia.
Matthew Stennett
So now little NARC has caused big brother to be thrown in the SLAM by " Big Brother ".
TheGodfather
And then you pass it on...
A.N. Other
I'm all for weeding out substance abuse from schools. Fortunately, the elder brother was found out promptly as his younger sibling was quick to grass.
gogogo
hahahaha how dangerous pot is and he's a teacher :)
Gobshite
It's time that educators started educating, including my country. Marijuana is no more dangerous than the 4L bottles of whisky they sell here, or the cigarettes for $4 a pack, less so in fact. I rarely support anything 'merkan, but at least some states are waking up to that fact. I fear that Japan is firmly stuck in the Meiji era, or heading full speed to the Edo period.
That said, extra education for the kid, 12 is too young. But if his seniors have no idea, how can they teach? I'll bet the parents told him not to drink....
clueless
@strangerland
The "epitome" I'd say.
Miguel Lozano
So police raided his home only for this reason...
Disillusioned
Marijuana is no where near as dangerous as those 'quasi' drugs that are getting around. Japan's 'stigma' about the use of pot dates back to the post war era and it was McArthur who laid the ground rules for its abolishment. It was actually very commonly smoked in Japan prior to WW2. However, after living here for such a long time I see no need for the use of recreational drugs. The locals are silly enough without them!
spinningplates
Well, the lessons for the 12 year old here are clear: 1:Don't trust authority figures. 2:Don't rat out your family.
nath
Only Mugs do Drugs. Sez a leather keyring I bought at a Bikers meet 27yrs ago.
Says it all IMHO.
Iwandabaka
Though I've long since quit, I started rolling tobacco at twelve and Columbian at thirteen.
igloobuyer
The school principal told local media: “This incident left me speechless.” He also said schools needed to thoroughly teach children how dangerous drug use can be.
Come on, marijuana is hardly a dangerous drug especially when you consider far more dangerous drugs like tobacco, alcohol and sugar are totally legal and widely used. If it had been cocaine or heroine it would have warranted this much fuss, but marijuana!?
tetuya
"boooops."
DiscoJ
What a terrible brother.
I mean the 12-year old.
smartacus
I wonder what recovering drug addicts think about marijuana. Does anyone know? I also wonder how the readers who support legalizing marijuana, would feel if their 12-year-old son or daughter was smoking pot.
nath
Both bad brothers that should know better.
But I do despair at the current youths they got no goals, hobby, etc = perfect= black kyihuo(dic).
They go zero personality's, goal, sim or even a hobby.
Med way too many during my stays at mental hospitals = tri?y lost souls
DaDude
Actually it just reminded me of the Japanese teenager arrested in Bali for marijuana possession. What happened with that case?
TakahiroDomingo
in all of europe, all school kids smoke junk. some kids turn junkies there. not all. a school director in Europe would be flabbergasted if a kid did not smoke. exactly the opposite from the mirror image in japan. i always marvel at what one country finds extreme crime is nothing bad in other countries. such cultural diversity! who's right?
nath
Of course I'd rather my kids not be smoking until they are finished puberty. But if they did smoke at that age, it wouldn't be the end of the world, and much better than drinking alcohol at that age.
But the fact is, legalizing it would make it much harder for kids to get it. Right now with no regulation, and the entire industry being underground, there are no controls whatsoever on age and who can get it. I'd rather it be legal and much harder for my kids to get.
Wc626
An overreaction. Kids getting caught with pot isn't the end of the world. What was really stupid was the 16 yr old boy, Tochigi Prefecture, inhaling butane gas in the park with his friends and died.
kiriha
this is not right
25years in Japan
Marijuana deaths - 0, inhaling butane - 1, Alcohol related deaths- thousands.
Hemp nutrionial seeds, Doctor Bronners Hemp soap, Cannibis oil, all banned from import in Japan.
David Howell
Wish I could just afford it, not that I would dream of breaking the law, like driving too fast or pushing out of turn, or ... come to think of it what IS legal in Japan? I've been here too long to know (or care ).
sfjp330
JalapenoNOV. 11, 2015 - 03:49PM JST Just move to Colorado, Washington, or Oregon.
Regardless of what the state passes, it all flouts federal law, the complaint continues. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency still classifies the plant as a Schedule 1 drug, which makes it illegal for clinical or personal use.
toshiko
@DisillusionedNOV. 11, 2015 - 06:28PM JST Marijuana is no where near as dangerous as those 'quasi' drugs that are getting around. Japan's 'stigma' about the use of pot dates back to the post war era and it was McArthur who laid the ground rules for its abolishment. It was actually very commonly smoked in Japan prior to WW2. However, after living here for such a long time I see no need for the use of recreational drugs. The locals are silly enough without them!
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
No. above is false statement. There was herb medicine culture in Japan. KanpouYaku because originated from China before Western mediciines were inyroduced. Smoking M culture was not created by Japan. . Not smoking. Vreious herbs were dried, jusr like green tea, and dried, then used as Yakusou Tea. Never used to smoke. McArthyr has nothing to do with this Chinese medicine. Their business was called YakuBou. Cigareete sales business were called tabakoya and they differred.
Matthew Harding
Ratting out your own brother??? Disgusting. I hope the brother AND the father give this 12 boy a good beating.
nath
People are condemning this kid for telling on his brother. The kid is 12 years old, and was being questioned by the police. I think you would be lucky to find one in a hundred kids who could hold out against that pressure. The police are trained in how to make people talk, and regularly get adults to talk. And people expect that a 12 year old kid would somehow be able to hold out against this? Yeah, right.
Commodore Shmidlap (Retired)
Nice quote from the land of boozing yourself blind instead of seeking counseling for mental problems and stress and "I don't remember groping her/making a video up her skirt because I was drunk." How many times was he or some of his teachers drunk as lords over the past school term?
Kobe White Bar Owner
"Super Grass" Grassing on his own brother @_@
jonobugs
I wouldn't be too hard on the 12 year old child for telling on his big brother. He was being questioned by seasoned officers who probably used every trick in the book to get him to tell all. It seems to me that most adults in Japan also confess to a lot of stuff, so to expect an immature boy to withstand a police inquisition is pretty unrealistic.
Kobe White Bar Owner
The school principal told local media: “This incident left me speechless.” He also said schools needed to thoroughly teach children how dangerous drug use can be. But not good taxable drugs like alcohol and tobacco which are regrettably on the most count socially acceptable. He's at this moment looknig for a all you can drink place for his end of year party. And the world keeps turning.
Kobe White Bar Owner
The school principal told local media: “This incident left me speechless.” He also said schools needed to thoroughly teach children how dangerous drug use can be. But not good taxable drugs like alcohol and tobacco which are regrettably on the most count socially acceptable.
Stewart Gale
While I understand how he broke under police questioning and grassed up his brother, why did he volunteer the information to his headmaster in the first place? That was stupid.
skinnee
What really intrigues me is that an otherwise benign piece of news is making headlines across the country.
The TV at my gym has been running "expert" analysis of the story for the past 20 minutes.
Is there so little else going on?
Kobe White Bar Owner
@ Skinnee, two word in my opinion.
National mollycoddling.Japan Violet
Glad to hear this news. Tobacco should be illegal as well. Maybe by the year of the Olympics it will be! Until then I hope the schools continue the crack-down.
Christopher Glen
Maybe pigs might fly
IfeelImust
They may well do, if they smoke enough grass.
nath
Looks like the down voters are Mugs supporters.
Pity as you don't want to see Bikers that are high or on other drugs, heck most Bikers hardly drink and ride. Yeah, I know the media stereotypes all too well.
As a Biker if I crash I heal naturally my bike costs money more so if customised as I love my bike ......
Cortes Elijah
Weed.... Nothing wrong with it. It's cleaner than alcohol and tobacco. My mom used to deal it haha. I tried it a few times but not for me. Although I've never seen people get violent on it... All you want to do is go to White Castle.
toshiko
Smoking is recreational. In Volorado, medical M such as M candies are aols, I heard.
MeanRingo
As for the 12-year-old kid, I don't understand why he even brought it up, unless it was for bravado. I've taught this type before, and I tell you if he is a pain in the arse now, it's due to bad parenting, not the school or the pot. And if he's this much of an arse now, he will be even worse by the time he drops out of school and joins the Bozos at age 15. Not sure that the older brother is gonna let him get to that age, of course. Interestingly, at 17, he probably won't get any kind of punishment for the pot, and if he's smart, he knows he won't get any kind of punishment for the murder of his bro, either.
toshiko
If parents smoke cigarettes, their children copy and later smoke weeds. Srop smoking cigarettes.
nath
I don't believe there is a link between the two. There is a link between parents smoking cigarettes and their children going on to smoke cigarettes though.
Commodore Shmidlap (Retired)
Why don't you ask recovering alcoholics what they think about alcohol. Recovering cigarette smokers what they think about tobacco. You could ask recovering marijuana addicts about marijuana, but there's no such thing.
Worried the police were going to slam them into a private-run prison for profit because of a trumped-up drug war that's only seen drugs become more prevalent, cheaper and of higher quality than before we declared it. And billions of dollars flushed down the drain and thousands of entry-level people jailed whose basic flaw was they didn't have any underlings to rat out to DAs in exchange for probation or suspended sentences. Oh, and some of those DAs rigging seizure laws for profit as well. I certainly wouldn't want any child of mine-- at any age-- to fall into the corrupt machinery of stiff penalties to appeal to bonehead voters and privatized prisons. A perfect storm of jackboot-for-profit stupidity and incredible infringement on individual rights and liberties.
Legalize it.
BurakuminDes
12 year old Japanese kids can find weed here, and I still can't after 12 years here! Life isn't fair!
nath
I believe the seeds have to be sterilized before they can be sold in Japan, so planting them won't do anything.
bookowls
Okay, he's 12. Pretty sure when most of us were that age, we didn't the difference between making an innocent statement and snitching. Lay off the kid.
And people/officials really need to quit calling Marijuana a 'drug' - it's a herb. A plant. A leaf. No one ever died of it, no one ever went on a killing spree from using it, no one broke into a home or store when using it... you'd be lucky if you have the strength to open a packet of chips! That and the fact you'd be laughing and too relaxed to do anything.
NOT-A-DRUG!
kurisupisu
What Japan needs is a serious dope study - let's see some scientific proof that cannabis is harmful vs tobacco, alcohol and girly bars. In the meantime let's arrest every Canadian coming to Japan because well ....er guilt by association?
Patrick Kimura-Macke