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Colorado has legalized marijuana sales. Would you like to see Japan try something similar?

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Absolutely. I think it will happen when pigs fly, but it would be great to see Japan respect individual freedoms for a change - especially after the Peace Preservation ... I mean State Secrets Law passed. The copyright protection law that came into effect in 2012 was also overly broad and served to further isolate Japanese creative content from worldwide distribution - because Japanese IP companies don't see a market for their stuff outside of Japan.

And considering that the Japanese drink like fish and smoke like chimneys, broad health concerns is an illogical argument.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

They could at least start by legalising nutrional hemp seeds and other hemp products that can't even be smoked. Marijuana should be legalised especially for health use as it is well known to alleviate pain and beneficial for cancer sufferers.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Yes!

0 ( +5 / -5 )

Yes. Puzzles me that the world seems to be getting more lenient on MaryJane but stricter on tobacco.....

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Without commenting on what Colorado did, I am happy for Japan that is not stuck with the insane drug culture that infects the west. I'd rather they not go down that road. Even building plastic figures or collecting idol stuff is a more worthwhile use of people's time than taking recreational drugs. Recreational drugs, even if harmless, is something that should be highly discouraged, when people take drugs to feel good instead of doing things to feel better in their own lives, it's a major issue.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

The US has 50 states which differ greatly in culture and politics. There might be some slight differences among Japan's prefectures but I don't think enough to defy the national government and take a bold step like this. So no, there isn't a "Colorado" in Japan and legalization is pretty unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

"Even building plastic figures or collecting idol stuff is a more worthwhile use of people's time than taking recreational drugs. "

kchoze, I don't know how you are going to defend that position logically. At least people taking recreational drugs tend to socialize. I bet it would be a lot easier to cobble together a list of drug users who made famous artworks like animations which employed a bunch of people than it would be to name otaku collectors who did likewise.

To answer the thread question, yes, of course The prohibition of marijuana is insane wherever you go, unless of course you are one of those high-heeled dregs of society who profits off the repression, from the DuPont family to the Tijuana Cartel.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Interesting to see how many people here are pro drugs! If I see all the drug-related BS going on in the US, I'm glad that Japan is very strict on this. Even if Marijuana is a harmless drug. It's typically associated with circles of low life that no decent human wants to participate with.

-6 ( +6 / -12 )

Funny car, if people think they need drugs to socialize, that is a major problem. I'd say that drugs are more an impediment to real socialization than anything else. You don't need to be high to enjoy the company of friends, and I pity those who think so, for they have truly succumbed to the decadent drug mindset which affects so many in the western world. That mindset which says drugs are the answer to everything, all the time. And I include the abused of legal prescription drugs in there. How many promising celebrities have died from overdosing on a cocktail of various legal drugs in recent years? They felt tired, they took one drug, they felt sad, they took another drug, but then they couldn't sleep, so they take another drug to go to sleep, then they want to feel good and party so they take other (likely illegal) drugs.

It's all the same mentality: got a problem? Want to feel good? Take a drug.

From what I can see, Japan is largely exempt from this dangerous trend, and I would prefer it continue to avoid this pitfall of modern life. They have other problems, but not this one, and that is a good thing.

Where you and me shall agree is the absurdity of sending people to jail for using or owning marijuana. Nothing good comes out of this kind of prohibition and criminalization. At most, having the marijuana seized and getting a small fine should be all that marijuana users should be exposed to, if that.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Yes. booze and fags are already well tolerated here and they can both be much more harmful than a spliff.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

CGB SpenderJAN. 03, 2014 - 01:19PM JST Interesting to see how many people here are pro drugs! If I see all the drug-related BS going on in the US, I'm glad that Japan is very strict on this. Even if Marijuana is a harmless drug. It's typically associated with circles of low life that no decent human wants to participate with.

I think you'll find that's one of the main reasons they are making Marijuana sales free- to get it out of the "low life" criminal element. Unless you are instead saying Marijuana smokers themselves are "low-lifes" - if that's the case what makes Marijuana smokers low-life?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

No way. Marijuana has a lot of negative side effects (like cancer and clinical paranoia). We don't need anymore sick people here.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Say Nope To Dope

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Still love the keyring I bought at a Bike Rally 19yrs ago.

"Only Mugs do Drugs."

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Persistent cannabis users show neuropsychological decline from childhood to midlife. In other words, smoking marijuana makes you stupid.

More than 1,000 study participants from New Zealand were tested for IQ at age 13 - likely before any significant marijuana use - and again at age 38. All were born in the town of Dunedin during a year-long span ending in 1973.

Researchers compared their IQ scores at age 13 to the score at age 38 and found a drop only in those who had started regularly smoking pot by 18. Those deemed marijuana-dependent in three or more surveys had a drop averaging 8 points. If a person had average intelligence and was smarter than 50 percent of the population, dropping 8 points would give them a score only higher than 29 percent of the population, the researchers said.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2012/08/22/1206820109.abstract

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Yes I would but Japan is probably half a century or more away from this, so not in my lifetime,

1 ( +1 / -0 )

House Atreidis - that is such a BOGUS study. It's a medicine that is safer than alcohol or tobacco. People want to relax, and NOT risk their life doing it. Millions die from ALCOHOL and TOBACCO each year, particularly in Japan, yet the SAFER alternative that has not killed ANYONE is illegal. THIS IS A SCAM. Japan needs to follow COLORADO and LEGALIZE NOW. WHY IS MARIJUANA ILLEGAL? http://www.drugwarrant.com/articles/why-is-marijuana-illegal/

HEALTH BENFITS OF CANNABIS: http://www.ibtimes.com/%E2%80%98medical%E2%80%99-marijuana-10-health-benefits-legitimize-legalization-742456

We won't go through all 200 conditions here, but here are 10 of the most notable, common conditions, afflictions and diseases that marijuana has been proven to help.

Alzheimer's disease - In 2006, the Scripps Research Institute in California discovered that delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the active ingredient in marijuana, can prevent an enzyme called acetylcholinesterase from accelerating the formation of "Alzheimer's plaques" in the brain, as well as protein clumps that can inhibit cognition and memory, more effectively than commercially marketed drugs.

Epilepsy - A study performed by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University discovered that ingredients found in natural marijuana "play a critical role in controlling spontaneous seizures in epilepsy." Dr. Robert J. DeLorenzo, professor of neurology at the VCU School of Medicine, added that "Although marijuana is illegal in the United States, individuals both here and abroad report that marijuana has been therapeutic for them in the treatment of a variety of ailments, including epilepsy."

Multiple sclerosis - It's long been believed that smoking pot helps MS patients, and a study published as recently as May provided yet another clinical trial as evidence of marijuana's impact on multiple sclerosis patients with muscle spasticity. Even though the drug has been known to cause dizziness and fatigue in some users, most MS patients report marijuana not only helps ease the pain in their arms and legs when they painfully contract, but also helps them just "feel good." How many prescription drugs can say their side effects include "happiness"?

Glaucoma - Since the 1970s, studies have called medical marijuana an effective treatment against glaucoma, one of the leading causes of blindness in the world. Researchers say marijuana helps reduce and relieve the intraocular pressure that causes optic nerve damage, but the proponents say it helps "reverse deterioration," too.

Arthritis - Marijuana proves useful for many types of chronic pain conditions, but patients with rheumatoid arthritis report less pain, reduced inflammation and more sleep. However, this is not to say that arthritis patients should exchange their medication with pot; marijuana eases the pain, but it does nothing to ameliorate or curb the disease.

Depression - A study on addictive behaviors published by USC and SUNY Albany in 2005, whose 4,400 participants made it the largest investigation of marijuana and depression to date, found that "those who consume marijuana occasionally or even daily have lower levels of depressive symptoms than those who have never tried marijuana." The study added that "weekly users had less depressed mood, more positive affect, and fewer somatic complaints than non-users."

Anxiety - An article published in the April 2010 edition of the Harvard Mental Health Letter, "Medical marijuana and the mind," said that while "many recreational users say that smoking marijuana calms them down, for others it has the opposite effect. ... Studies report that about 20 to 30 percent of recreational users experience such problems after smoking marijuana." The article did not mention which "studies" supported this fact, and most marijuana users would call this claim totally erroneous. Here's a story from Patsy Eagan of Elle Magazine, who describes how she prefers marijuana to treat her anxiety over prescription drugs.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

For those of you who are against marijuana, why do deem this "drug" so bad while other more harmful drugs (tobacco, alcohol, food preservatives and additives, sugar......) you let slide and probably use on a daily basis. Whatever the reason people use marijuana, the same reasons exist for people who smoke or drink. The problem I see is that people who are anti-marijuana think that it affects everyone in the same way, but it doesn't. Like most things in life, some people should not use marijuana, but that doesn't mean that everyone else shouldn't as well. Let the individual decide what is good and bad for themselves.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Japanese high on marijuana? Let me imagine the scene during a morning train ride...

"Wow, look at all these people packed into this train, and yet it's so quiet you can hear a pin drop! Wow! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... Hey, I'm getting hungry, anybody got anything to eat?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Readers, comparisons with alcohol are not relevant to this discussion.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Really sad that apparently intelligent people feel the need to resort to a drug to relax, and ridicule those who relax with hobbies. The last thing I want to see are Japanese people getting off their faces like a bunch of doped up hippies, reeking of that sickly smoke.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Legalizing weed would put pachinko parasites out of business.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

It'll be interesting to see how this is going to work out in Colorado as under federal law production remains a crime. Will 'drug tourists' flock to this state en mass? I doubt Japan would ever consider the option, neither would I support it. As it is Japan has, like many other nations, enough alcohol and tobacco related problems. In addition the concept of freedom, do what one likes across a broad spectrum, is somewhat different from standards in other countries.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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