Frankie Wilde comments

¥500,000 for a 100 pills, the guy was ripped off, could have bought them for ¥150,000-¥200,000 if he had known the right guy in Japan, would have cost only ¥25,000 in the Uk. If you don't know what MDMA really is, you should check out the great work that MAPS is doing. Current research suggests it is a great treatment for PTST. But if you think putting this guy in prison will change anything, remember there are millions of people taking MDMA around the world. Good luck finding a prison big enough!

At least these people have put their lungs to good use before they die and have helped to support a myriad of businesses, contributed to the advancement of scientific knowledge and paid a serious amount of money in tax for their habit over the years! And yes, many will die younger than non smokers reducing the burden on the state.

Pot smoking, hmm, yes you can be kicked out of school, lose your job, get caught up in gang violence, get ripped off, end up in prison, sometimes for life, even executed if you happen to be in the wrong country at the time. On the other-hand, a lot of people have become fairly wealthy in Japan selling pot. There are not many countries in the world where you can grow a plant and sell the flower for ¥3000-5000 a gram. As for the physical effects, you are more likely to come to serious harm playing soccer, Studies done over a 20 year period showed regular marijuana smokers lung function had actually improved, albeit slightly, to the surprise of the researchers. That doesn't happen with tobacco! As for the psychological effects, yes keep THC away from teens, and don't let them watch too much TV, probably equally as bad for a developing mind. Bottom line is, according to the UN alcohol kills somebody once every 10 seconds around the world. Over 3 million people a year. Researchers in Europe recently published a report in Europe where they think they might have found 2 deaths which can be attributed to pot on medical grounds. As for motivational issues! Hey you got to have a lot of get up and go if you want to be a grower in Japan, considering the consequences of getting caught over here!

Depends on where you live!

Japan

As in China, hemp fiber was highly regarded among the Japanese and figured prominently in their everyday lives and legends.

Hemp (asa) was the primary material in Japanese clothes, bedding, mats and nets. Clothes made of hemp fiber were especially worn during formal and religious ceremonies because of hemp's traditional association with purity in Japan.[28] So fundamental was hemp in Japanese life that it was often mentioned in legends explaining the origins of everyday things, such as how the Japanese earthworm came to have white rings around its neck.

According to Japanese legend, there were once two women who were both fine weavers of hemp fiber. One woman made fine hemp fabric but was a very slow worker. Her neighbor was just the opposite - she made coarse fabric but worked quickly. During market days, which were held only periodically, it was customary for Japanese women to dress in their best clothes, and as the day approached, the two women began to weave new dresses for the occasion. The woman who worked quickly had her dress ready on time, but it was not very fashionable. Her neighbor, who worked slowly, only managed to get the unbleached white strands ready, and when market day came, she didn't have her dress ready. Since she had to go to market, she persuaded her husband to carry her in a large jar on his back so that only her neck, with the white undyed hemp strands around it would be visible. In this way, everyone would think she was clothed instead of being naked inside the jar. On the way to the market, the woman in the jar saw her neighbor and started making fun of her coarse dress. The neighbor shot back that at least she was clothed. "Break the jar", she told everyone who could hear, "and you will find a naked woman". The husband became so mortified that he dropped the jar, which broke, revealing his naked wife, clothed only in hemp strands around her neck. The woman was so ashamed as she stood naked before everyone that she buried herself in the earth so that she would not be seen and she turned into an earthworm. And that, according to the Japanese, is why the earthworm has white rings around its neck.[29]

Hemp fiber also played a part in love and marital life in Japan. Another ancient Japanese legend tells of a soldier who had been romancing a young girl and was about to bid her farewell without giving her as much as his name, rank, or regiment. But the girl was not about to be jilted by this handsome and charming paramour. Unbeknownst to her mysterious lover, she fastened the end of a huge ball of hemp rope to his clothing as he kissed her farewell. By following the thread, she eventually came to the temple of the god Miva, and discovered that her suitor had been none other than the god himself.[30]

Besides its roles in such legends, hemp strands were an integral part of Japanese love and marriage. Hemp strands were often hung on trees as charms to bind lovers[31] (as in the legend), gifts of hemp were sent as wedding gifts by the man's family to the prospective bride's family as a sign that they were accepting the girl,[32] and hemp strands were prominently displayed during wedding ceremonies to symbolize the traditional obedience of Japanese wives to their husbands.[33] The basis of the latter tradition was the ease with which hemp could be dyed. Just as hemp could be dyed to any color, so too, according to an ancient Japanese saying, must wives be willing to be "dyed in any color their husbands may choose".[34]

Yet another use of hemp in Japan was in ceremonial purification rites for driving away evil spirits. As already mentioned, in China evil spirits were banished from the bodies of the sick by banging rods made from hemp against the head of the sickbed. In Japan, Shinto priests performed a similar rite with a gohei, a short stick with undyed hemp fibers (for purity) attached to one end. According to Shinto beliefs, evil and impurity cannot exist alongside one another, and so, by waving the gohei (purity) above someone's head the evil spirit inside him would be driven away.

When marijuana is legalized, and it is a case of when more than if, this is what is going to happen. No 1, some people will never go near it (unless told to by their doctor). No 2. Some people will try it and decide it is not good for them. Alcohol springs to mind! No 3. Some people will be not quite sure about it and dabble with it on and off through their lives with no significant downside. No 4. Some people will decide this is the icing on the cake of the hallucination we call reality and spend a significant amount of time negotiating this hallucination created in our own minds by smoking or eating as much as they feel comfortable with or need. No 5. Some people will spend their lives jumping up and down saying the world has gone to pot and we need to create prisons where millions of people are locked in cages for many years because I don't like the smell, or I don't agree with it, or I don't want to live in a country where some people can enjoy their lives listening to music, talking to friends, being creative- no! they should be working 14 hours a day like me and be as unhappy as me,,, because this country has to be competitive, otherwise we will be like a 3rd world nation and have to work 14.5 hours a day. Here, take all my taxes so I'm poor and we can afford this situation and put everybody in prison! Marijuana causes psychosis in people who have never smoked it ! Beware!

http://www.businessinsider.com/health-benefits-of-medical-marijuana-2012-11?op=1 And it gets you stoned!

@sfjp330 yes alcohol is a much bigger health issue for Japanese. That's why marijuana should be a legal alternative. The danger of governments criminalizing relatively harmless drugs is that when young people see successful, healthy people in their old age, (especially musicians who have been using these drugs for most of their lives) is that young people will not believe anything that they are told about drugs-and some are dangerous. Meth best avoided, heroin, wait until you've past 70, cocaine- not really good for you, your friends or your wallet. Most other things, ok in moderation.

@badsey3 yes meth is a nasty drug. My Japanese wife was a heavy meth/ cocaine addict for about 10 years. She started on meth at 17 years old. Took a long time and effort , many doctors, rehab and prescription medication to help her recover from amphetamine psychosis. Fine now though, as long as she takes her medication. Japanese need to be given an honest drug education about the dangers of drugs. Unfortunately that will not happen as many illegal drugs are safe to use unless you have an underlying medical problem. The government doesn' like to admit this and just lumps marijuana,DMT, etc in with drugs like meth and say they are all bad for you- even though people have been using some of them for thousands of years.

@algo1510- it was easy to get legally high here until 2002 when they made mushrooms illegal because of the World Cup. Everything is still available here though. Just costs more than in most other countries which means there will always be a supply because of the huge mark up. It's unfortunate that it was Japan who exported meth to the rest of the world and its going to be along wait for the Japanese to legalize weed but it will happen eventually. 30 percent of Japanese shouldn't drink alcohol ( the red faced ones) because they lack the enzyme to break it down properly which leads to cancer. Sooner or later they will go back.to their roots and rediscover marijuana. The emporer stills wears ceremonial robes made from hemp! I hope these young Vietnamese guys get a light sentence. They were probably just working for somebody else on a low salary if any.

@romeo. For many young Japanese, crystal meth is a gateway drug to Marijuana. There were no laws against marijuana in Japan until 1947 when the -Americans insisted on it. Now in America despite the all powerful DEA it is available from your doctor in 16 states and will soon be legalized for recreational use. It will happen here too when the world sees the sky does not fall in, death rates due to alcohol and tobacco fall and the only gateway drug legalized marijuana leads the vast majority of uses to is coffee.

There are a lot of misinformed uneducated and down right nasty comments about this kids situation in Bali. For those of you who are uneducated about marijuana and think this kid should be in prison think about this-most of the music you like, most of the actors you admire, most of the painters and poets you like are/ were probably marijuana smokers-add to this the entrepreneurs that have changed your life such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates Richard Branson etc etc all have admitted to being marijuana smokers. On top of this I know people who have spent time in prison in Bali. Do you know how they spent there time? They bought marijuana from the prison guards. Oh and by the way--I'm a drinker but it is well known that alcohol causes cancer, especially for 30 percent of the Japanese who lack the enzyme to break it down properly into a safer chemical....on top of this- another study has just been published in the media that a compound in marijuana has been found to be the most hopefull new find in the fight against aggresive cancers.Here's the link http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Pot-compound-seen-as-tool-against-cancer-3875562.php. Wake up people--even if you have tried marijuana and it wan't good for you -it is a medicean for many people--the reason it is illegal is because of politics, ignorance and evil people with an agenda that is too complicated to go into here...........

UNODC estimates that in 2009, between 2.8% and 4.5% of the world population aged 15-64, corresponding to between 125 and 203 million people, had used cannabis at least once in the past year. So which prison do you want to put all these people into---- All that has happened is a kids life is in Limbo and the currupt Police officers will be able to intimidate Tourists for even more money -whether they are guilty or not!

Smoking weed causes psychosis for many people who have never smoked it. Strange behaviour- where they feel it is better to lock somebody up in a prison for 10 years rather than to let them be at home watching TV, listening to music, or even making music,the same kind of music that they themselves probably grew up on. Marijuana and other non toxic drugs are not for everyone----but alcohol, cigarettes, are far worse for many people-and I say this as some one who drinks 2 bottles of wine a day and smokes as many cigarettes as I have to.These are the only drugs I am addicted to and I have taken nearly every illegal drug that exists.

As for this poor guy-I lived in Bali and I only met a few people who didnt smoke marijuana. He has just been extremely unlucky and is a victim of crime. Govermental crime! If Bali imprisoned everybody who smoked weed in their country they wouldnt have a tourist industry anymore.