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Tokyo metropolitan police officers on Tuesday conducted their first search and seizure investigation for "dangerous drugs" -- the term given to quasi-legal hallucinogenic herbs -- at stores in three wards of the city.
Four stores in Kabukicho in Shinjuku, Ikebukuro and Shimbashi were searched for the drugs, NTV reported. Although such searches have been conducted before as joint operations by police and Tokyo government health officials, recent revisions to the law now allow for police to conduct the investigations independently.
The number of crimes related to the so-called “dangerous drugs” last year was five times higher than in 2013, the National Police Agency said in a year-end report in December. According to the NPA report, from Jan 1 to Nov 30, there were 622 cases involving either the use and or possession of “dangerous drugs,” while drug-related arrests were 725.
The NPA report also said 111 people died due to drug-related complications or due to accidents caused by drivers high on the herbs.
Following Tuesday's raids, stores selling the herbs were ordered to cease all sales of the drugs. According to the police, as of July last year, there were 68 shops within the metropolitan area known to be selling the herbs.
Law enforcement officials acknowledged, however, that the wider problem of online sales of such herbs remains.
© Japan Today
25 Comments
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Magic Eight Ball
We all know what the main reason for people doing this junk is. Its almost like the government wants people to die from this junk by keeping the much safer marijuana highly illegal. Is the reason evil or stupid? Its anybody's guess.
smithinjapan
How can they conduct these raids and order people to cease selling them when they are not illegal? Just MAKE them illegal already!
Laguna
Easier said than done. The packaging tends to be marked with reference to intended use as potpourri and not for human consumption, and the ingredients shift constantly. It is a regulatory nightmare. I agree with Magic - some people are intent on getting high and will do so with anything as basic as paint thinner. Legalizing marijuana would provide a safer option.
warausalesman
legalising medical marihuana like California would definitely revive the inaka's agricultural :)
lucabrasi
"Quasi-legal" means nothing.
They're either legal or not....
Thunderbird2
Why do people want to get high anyway? If life so bad that you want to escape it by smoking leaves and getting off your face?
WA4TKG
Why do people DRINK ALCOHOL "ThunderBird2" ; cuz they WANT to.
Kakukakushikajika
Well they are some records of people getting high more than 3000 years ago. I don't think people gets high to escape life but rather to be more connected to it
kurisupisu
I hope that large amounts of Mochi was also confiscated?
Thunderbird2
Straw poll... those of you in favour of legalising drugs - are you users?
FightingViking
@Thunderbird2
Sure seems like it doesn't it ? But there are still those who hesitate to take even an aspirin... (I'm one of them...)
shallots
@Thunderbird2 Drugs are already legal...and some of the most dangerous ones. The Japanese government is a pretty big drug pusher itself. That's just a simple fact. They just want you to buy their dangerous drugs and not someone else's.
Thunderbird2
@Shallots - what do you mean drugs in Japan are already legal? Are you seriously saying that Cocaine and Heroin are available on the high street? That you can buy amphetamines as easily as paracetamol? That's what you are implying.
Americanhonor
only shamans used it properly to be more connectrd, the rest use it to escape life and get addicted.
shallots
@Thunderbird2 Nicotine is legal and more dangerous than some illegal drugs. Plus, the Japanese government profits from it's sale.
dagon
The infantile classification of a nebulous group of substances as "dangerous drugs" smacks of the "Just say No" anti-drug campaigns in the 80's in the states. Sponsored by the Reagans supporting the cocaine -running Nicaraguan Contras. And the biggest drug pusher in Japan is JT.
JoeBigs
If you want the ability to smoke that mind numbing crap then by all means smoke it, well as long as it is legal. As for me I would rather spend my money on something that has some sort of value/return, silver bullions anyone!?
Pot and the people that smoke it waste their money on nonsense while the rest of the world passes them by.
tjguy
Kakakaka.... says: "Well they are some records of people getting high more than 3000 years ago. I don't think people gets high to escape life but rather to be more connected to it."
Say what????
People do drugs to get more connected to life? So you think this is a good thing?
With reasoning like that you can justify anything you want to!
I fail to see how losing control of your faculties, becoming hooked, and spending big bucks on this stuff that leads to personal ruin helps you to feel more connected to life.
nath
Yes and no. I drink alcohol and coffee, so yes, but I haven't done illegal drugs in years.
That's a failure in logic, in that most people who do drugs don't get hooked, or spend more money than they can afford. Look at alcohol, it's a drug (that just happens to be legal). Is every person who drinks an alcoholic? Is every person who drinks drinking themselves to financial ruin?
As for feeling more connected to life, I've never felt more connected to the world than when eating magic mushrooms (which were legal in Japan until 2002). But unless you've done them, it's impossible to understand that feeling. Some of the best experiences of my life were on magic mushrooms. Here's some information on them which will drive anti-drug people crazy, but are true nonetheless: http://www.livescience.com/48704-odd-facts-about-magic-mushrooms.html
sighclops
Thunderbird2
Gee, you must be fun at parties. To steal a quote I saw the other day "Every person you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always."
tallpinedog
What are these drugs? Are they common or legal in other countries?
Sioux Chef
Well, you can walk into any drugstore and purchase opiates over-the-counter . . .
nath
Make drugs illegal and tax them.
shonanbb
Illegal? I think yo mean legal JapanGal. Watch your typing :-)
Disillusioned
These quasi drugs are dangerous and thus should be banned. However, their popularity shows an attraction within the society for these kinds of drugs. Normal grass is pretty much harmless compared to this rubbish.