crime

Two men arrested for possessing 108 cannabis plants in Fukuoka

52 Comments

Two men were arrested Wednesday night for possessing 108 plants of cannabis at an apartment in Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture. Police said Thursday that the street value of the plants is 180 million yen.

Ryohei Kitagawa and Hayato Yoshioka, both 28, were arrested when police raided their apartment on Wednesday night, following an anonymous tip. Police found 108 plants and other planting gear. Police believe the two have been growing cannabis for sales rather than for their own use.

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52 Comments
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Maybe they did buy them there. But are going to sell them to some foreigners in Fukuoka. There seems to be a big market there as there are many of them straight thinking types of foreigners there that love to justify it's use. True smokers.... but of course the illegal stuff is more healthy.. Rigggghhhhttttt!

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Let me guess,they bought those plants from a foreigner in Roppongi.

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And, some people don't understand sarcasm!

you're right. you need to learn how to use it better. ;)

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How is this news? They weren't even foreigners...

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Just gimme another puff of that wonderful stuff!

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Those are some very scary plants. Why do they keep lookin at me? Take your leafy eyes off of me.

I'm Brian Fellows!

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damn, what a waste!

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That speaks to your problems, not the problems of marijuana.

And, some people don't understand sarcasm! Let's hope hope Obama can inspire some more open-mindedness in the population of USAsia.

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Please accept my sincere and humble apology, badreligion. I thought it was sarcasm.

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I think he was agreeing with you...

yeah, caveman, agreeing with you with a vengeance...

It can cause depression and psychosis from over use.

your key word there is "overuse". most people who enjoy pot can distinguish what is acceptable, just like most people who drink aren't alcoholics. pot is addictive in the same way that chocolate, porn, the internet, or anything can be.

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Marijuana SHOULD be banned! It is downright BENEFICIAL!

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Of course they were growing it for improving their bank account. Economy is now in poor shape, and they were trying to help the poor. Sorry, not the poor but their own pockets. Do you know that Balinese people are worshiping this plant? It is called 'Plant of God!' But which God is in love with it? Surely not prosecutor or judge anyone growing marijuana is a scumbag and should be behind the bars for a very long time. Groving one plant would be reasonable, but 108 is grid.

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I feel the need to be depressed and psychotic just thinking about it.

That speaks to your problems, not the problems of marijuana.

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Hemp is grown all over the world and is still a very large part of some smaller country's economies. However, this is not hemp. It can cause depression and psychosis from over use. I feel the need to be depressed and psychotic just thinking about it.

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they said only for medical reason..how to work from 8 a.m. to 23;00 with out stress...

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I think he was agreeing with you...

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I harbor a deep grudge towards my homeland for its worldwide demonization of this immensely beneficial plant...

Beneficial? You probably find no benefit in any form of relaxation I suppose? You would go for a seven day work week and make everyone wear black and cover even their ankles no doubt. I also suspect the hard lessons of prohibition are totally lost on you.

You probably do not know that hemp is in fact so beneficial that the United States lifted a ban on it during WWII. It was needed for the war effort. The plant has many uses besides as a drug. It used to be very common until DuPont came along.

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I consider the smoking and growing of weed to be completely just and downright necessary civil disobedience.

I feel all warm n fuzzy when I hear this kind of enlightened thinking. I harbor a deep grudge towards my homeland for its worldwide demonization of this immensely beneficial plant...

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Big time crime hits Japan. Perhaps the cops will crack down on prostitution next.

Ha!Ha!Ha!

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1 plant=personal, 180 plants=some kinda risky shit. 180,000,000 divided by 108= a shitload of money per. Truly inflated prices, or they based it on what the cops usually have to pay for it when they are off duty.

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I'd say that only half of the 108 plants are in that picture. While is does look like a pretty sad harvest I suspect these guys were using the 'sea of green' method whereby you cluster the plants in a small group forcing them to grow up rather than out. Each plant develops a cluster of potent bud at the top but not much develops anywhere else on the plant. Usually this method greatly reduces the amount of time and energy it takes to harvest a plant. Unfortunately for the grower, the yield is also greatly reduced. Judging by the picture I'd say that these plants are quite a long way from being harvested... I guess the cops are calculating the weight of the plant by including the pot and the soil. No way that could be worth 180 million yen even at the ridiculously high prices in Japan.

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Did they have bud on them? they dont look too great from the pic. If they havent started to grow bud how can they put a value on them?

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i guess the koban will be foggy for weeks to come

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They work it out at 1kg per plant and figure a kilo of pot is worth 2,000,000yen. - I'm in the wrong business!

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180 million yen for those? that's what...about $1.8 million? or over $20,000 per plant? NO WAY, those are over inflated estimates by the cops to make it look like they are doing a lot more than they really are!

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Aren't there enough national parks to anonymously slash little farms?

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Well said, whynothow and CavemanLawyer

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yes. law abiding citizens are losers and criminals are heroes.

Only a complete fool would mix sellers of marijuana with, say gangsters who should be ratted out.

The narc is a tosser. I consider the smoking and growing of weed to be completely just and downright necessary civil disobedience.

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there are things

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I can see why japan doesnt want it legal..... The fashion industry would collapse, people would start wondering if they really need something before they buy it, and they would start to look at their suits and tie in a different way, they would question their "education"(surely their must be more in life then memorizing books), they would start to doubt the "suit bot" lifestyle is the way to go, that sacrifice for the group is a ridiculous idea, that "shoganai" is not an acceptable way to deal with tragedy and that all in all there must be a better way to achieve greatness than conformity and blind obedience. Damn their are things that money and social standing cant buy? A drink anyone??????

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It grows everywhere here and used to not be illegal. Became illegal after the war. Americans made it illegal. Fools. Mushrooms used to be legal fairly recently. 10 years ago perhaps? Used to sell them on the streets in Shibuya. Considered a vegetable. But some idiot decided they were too dangerous. I beg to disagree. Those 108 plants would have to be set up in a room where you can control the lighting, so not sure how they did that. Legalize weed so the prices come down. Most expensive place to buy it i the world.

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Wow! it`s like the news is purposely looking for news about cannabis. Every couple of days we hear about something.

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People have got to learn to guerrilla plant better.

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JmannGod

As for the tipster... what a tosser!

yes. law abiding citizens are losers and criminals are heroes. I think we know who is the real loser with comments like that.

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"Planted the plants on them." Another good one!

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I heard some foreigners planted the plants on them

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following an anonymous tip

Hmmm.

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defense line: I bought the seeds from a foreigner.

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Those are the plants in question??? Those guys should be arrested as bad gardeners, not drug lords. Jeez, it'd be pointless to smoke anything from that lot. You don't want leaf or shake, you want bud; you don't get proper bud until plants are a good meter high.

Oh wait, maybe it's bonsai sensimillia; sorry.

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and to those of you who think this should be a crime, many of your sick and dying relatives may wish otherwise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTJCMgenP9M

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"street value." what a joke. it's ridiculous how the authorities always calculate a street value based on the smallest quantity of sale, as if these two guys were going to get that much.

and for the anonymous tip... well, these guys should have remembered the first rule about weed in japan: nihonjin cannot be trusted when it comes to weed. ;)

i kid. NO ONE can be trusted. Rule number one: Don't tell anyone. Rule number two: See rule number one. Rule number three: Are you an idiot or something? See first two rules!

and the hemp plant is indeed native to japan. the world record holding strain (for height) is from Tochigi-ken (although that stat is at least 6 years old... not sure if it still holds true), and a school in Tochigi mentions the plant in the school song.

japan (and the entire world) has a rich history with this plant, and it's a shame to see it so demonized.

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Isn't 108 an auspicious number for some reason? Number of times the temple bell is rung on new years night, number of stitches on a baseball, number of "Best ....ist" awards per week?

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wakie wakie Japan I think the government is stoned most of the time anyway!, they do nothing except make themselves look and feel good, legalize the stuff and get to the next chapter Holland has for years and they seem to be awake. The pill for women was so quick to be legalized when the pill for old men came about!!!

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I've heard it still grows wild in some areas of Hokkaido, however, I'm not sure if it is true. I wonder if Japan will ever adjust its clandestine laws for hooter.

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Yang Yong, They probably live in Tokyo. But their non-Japanese customers live in Fukuoka I'm sure.

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growers need to get smarter.... this is really depressing news. Weed is already far too expensive in Japan. As for the tipster... what a tosser!

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Oops Ooasa Station

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Where do the non-Japanese people they bought them from live?

I heard they lived somewhere near 大麻駅 (Oosa Station; Marijuana Station) in Hokkaido.  

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Exactly Yangyong. How are they going to spin this so that it is a gaijin fault? Maybe these are the guys that have been supplying the Brazilians in Tokyo??

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Where do the non-Japanese people they bought them from live?

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I believe it is native to Japan and was widely used and smoked in a variety of situations until the Americans arrived. Damn puritans!

S

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did it grow naturally as a species in Japan previously or was it introduced?

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