Japan to ban cannabinoid HHCH from Dec 2 after gummies make many ill

Dozens of derivatives and variations still exist and need to be tracked down one by one.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/08/07/japan/crime-legal/japan-cannabis-related-laws/

https://www.euromonitor.com/article/key-trends-for-cannabis-in-japan-new-regulation-and-new-opportunities-in-2023

Abolish the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare! It is nothing more than a worthless, bloated institution of bureaucrats lining their pockets with funds from their friends in big pharma. Their policies have not reduced the risk of drugs and are as ineffective/foolish as their Covid ideology.

They have lied repeatedly about the risks of these substances without doing their due diligence via research and testing. There is a legislative process that should be employed for the prohibition of dangerous drugs. Allowing an incompetent body to frivolously make changes to the law whenever they want goes well outside of the bounds of reasonable and responsible governance.

All CBD shops and dispensaries across the country should lawyer up and sue - I think they have a good case.

Wolfshine, may be I missed it but there didn’t appear to be any plan to ban CBD only the synthetic equivalents to THC.

Admittedly banning psychoactive drugs without addressing the psychological causes or other stressors and problems leading to people seeking this route to cope with their situation is pointless and ultimately a failure. The Portuguese model should be applied far more widely.

Just legalize cannabis. So easy.

Wolfshine, may be I missed it but there didn’t appear to be any plan to ban CBD only the synthetic equivalents to THC.

Many of the CBD shops in Tokyo did sell HHCH. I can't speak for all of the entities that exist. But at one of the CBD shops I support, they told me that they would only sell HHCH and not other analogs because the others may be too strong for new users. It's not like they haven't considered the risks involved. These aren't stupid or irrational people, they run legitimate businesses. I would argue, they have probably done more scientific research than the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has.

Admittedly banning psychoactive drugs without addressing the psychological causes or other stressors and problems leading to people seeking this route to cope with their situation is pointless and ultimately a failure. The Portuguese model should be applied far more widely.

I mean, I could understand them strictly enforcing penalties, but only on actually hard, dangerous drugs. The most widely used drug in Japan still remains shabu (meth), not weed or the analogs.

The thing is that isn't really their true goal. Their goal is controlling young people. Keeping them in line. Keep them chasing a fake path up the corporate ladder that will supposedly, eventually, lead them to prosperity. Don't rock the boat, respect authority and hierarchy. In reality, this is a terrible lifestyle. Quality of life is declining here and the economy is shriveling up.

Has anyone else noticed the monthly pattern of the media and bureaucrats finding a new moral crisis for the sake of drumming up public paranoia and hysteria?

In September, they went on a crusade against THC-B and THC-V. Then, in October, Ken Hasebe spent an entire month making him the center of media attention and harassing Halloween enthusiasts, telling them not to come to Shibuya, even though he has no right or authority to make such commands. And now, they've found the new object of moral panic: HHCH, even though it is a relatively weak substance, all because a few people who mistakenly took a high dose had a weak tolerance and didn't realize that if you lie down or go for a walk, any anxiety will eventually subside? That's how stupid this whole thing is. Next month, it will be a new stupid controversy that makes the front page even though there are seriously bigger issues and concerns in Japan and in the world.

People in the media also need to be held accountable for their role in doing the bureaucrat's dirty work. All it took was one minor incident, a ton of dishonest reporting, and the Ministry can immediately make major, massive changes that negatively affects a growing industry in Japan.

It will not change until the young people realize how hard they're being screwed, and start making some noise.

Great news!

GahanToday 09:00 am JST

Just legalize cannabis. So easy.

Why do you want drugs legalized?

You must not live in Japan and enjoy a drug free and safe country.

Good it is about time.

Just legalize cannabis. So easy.

Exactly! It's a plant. It has been legal in other countries.

Drug legalization has been a DISASTER in the Pacific Northwest. And it all started with marijuana. We were told the taxes on the pot would make our state rich. We were told it was NOT a gateway drug. All lies. Billboards all over the place advertising weed and pot shops on every other corner. Everything and everybody STINKING of drug smoke.

I guess the Japanese gov’t couldn’t find a way to get a cut on it?

otherwise, it would’ve been ignored like other things………

We were told the taxes on the pot would make our state rich.

According to the data, your state collected half a billion dollars in taxes from cannabis. If your state government is distributing that money poorly, that is not the fault of legalization.

We were told it was NOT a gateway drug.

There is no such thing as a gateway drug. There are gateway lifestyles, gateway behaviors, certainly gateway personalities that may lead people down the path of drug addiction. But there is no concrete evidence that people try cannabis and then rush off to do heroin or meth.

Billboards all over the place advertising weed and pot shops on every other corner.

So what this essentially comes down to, is you being triggered? I am certainly okay with stricter regulations on how these kinds of products are marketed, but let's face it, the advertising of cannabis in popular culture predates legalization.

There is no disaster. I would be willing to agree with you that the United States has deep cultural and societal issues, and drug addiction certainly factors into that. But the necessary actions needed to stop the opioid epidemic have repeatedly been stonewalled by people in the state and federal governments. Also it doesn't help that the pharmaceutical industry literally does not care how many die, as long as they can continue getting richer off of it.

Great. Then the compound will be changed by one molecule, thus making it legal.

By the way, who eats something handed to them by a stranger in a park?

That was quick. Can’t get them to investigate their own strange numbers for accounting but if it’s to look tough and decisive about a completely innocuous thing, super fast!

But why say many? It was like 9 people. 9 people dumb enough to take random candy from a stranger. And only had a tummy ache

I just passed the cafe near my home .

They have a sign on the door saying HHCH products are now banned.

But as I was leaving the owner came out and say they had plenty of alternatives.

Just a letter or two different

@3rensho:drug legalization has been a DISASTER in the Pacific Northwest

If it has in fact been a disaster no doubt posters could provide links supporting that contention. I have strong links to the Pacific Coast states and have yet to hear there has been a disaster of any sort because of legalization, some attorneys that had made money defending people busted for pot have lost some income, beyond that I am not aware of much more in the way of anything negative. Evenb some red states want to legalize.

That was quick. Can’t get them to investigate their own strange numbers for accounting but if it’s to look tough and decisive about a completely innocuous thing, super fast!

Yeh, it's insane how misplaced their priorities are. Though to be fair, it's not as though Kishida or the Diet are passing this edict down from above. That process might at least posses some legitimacy. Instead, they are not legislating and having their mad dog, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare do it.

Moreover, with regard to said Ministry's title, they really haven't done very much in the "Labor and Welfare" realms of activities recently. Their agenda for the past four years has been almost entirely Covid hysteria, and now mostly anti-weed stuff. They really are not putting any effort into curbing issues like toxic workplace culture or overtime. Like I said, they're just a bunch of shills for the pharmaceutical industry, and considering how little they actually contribute to society... I say it should be abolished and everyone there fired. Or, at least, their funds massively slashed.

But why say many? It was like 9 people. 9 people dumb enough to take random candy from a stranger. And only had a tummy ache

So, from my perspective, this entire thing could also literally just be a hoax.

How hard would it be? Pay a handful of people to put on a giant show in the park, and have media people ready to run a story on it asap. Narrative is pre-packaged, and once it gets enough attention/reporting, then the Ministry can add another substance to their kill list.

These are not honest or good people. They are opportunistic and want control.

This stuff is dangerous and has been abused in Japan since the early 2000’s. It is a chemical concoction that causes many dangerous side effects. It’s about time they made it illegal.

I am all for banning dangerous substances after proper research and not through knee-jerk reactions.

I see some people here saying "Ban ALL narcotics and drugs!"... I wonder if people realize that alcohol is a drug and a narcotic, or if sheeple are too blind to think for themselves.

Not to mention nicotine, the desirable substance in tobacco, is also a narcotic AND a stimulant.

It is actually pretty funny when you draw a comparison because just like in this HHCH incident, a few people got a "tummyache", and had to go to the hospital because they ate way more than the recommended dose. However, thousands of people a year get hospitalized for alcohol-related "tummy aches", overdoses, addictions, and injuries.

Hmmm...

Lindsay

Today 04:25 pm JST

This stuff is dangerous and has been abused in Japan since the early 2000’s. It is a chemical concoction that causes many dangerous side effects. It’s about time they made it illegal.

Why'd it take so long?

I would have expected Japan to include new narcotics in the ban list as soon as possible after being identified.

I would think that a culture who likes to turn to drugs is the high anxiety and panic disorder one

Of course drugs should be regulated whatever it is

Oh no! Anyway...

Get them while they’re still legal! Eat as many hundreds as you can before December 2!

Hurry and buy them up, lol