Some Japanese cannabis info sites in English

[Saibai]

THC

THC - Centre for victims of the Cannabis control act
Legal advice, introductions to cannabis-experienced lawyers in Japan for foreign residents/visitors. Run by volunteers.

Taima.org

Probably the biggest and most well-known source of info on Cannabis in Japan.
Run by the owner of Asa, a hemp restaurant in Tokyo. Has a wide range of informative articles.

Cannabist.org

A non-profit group for the reform of the Cannabis Control Act in Japan. Send out free newsletters, but only in Japanese. Also, the site apart from this "About us" page is in Japanese.

DAPC

The Drug Abuse Prevention Centre. Anti-drug Propagandha.

 

[Saibai]

OK, this was really hard to find, there's not many sites that have valid links to Japanese criminal law, but heres one on "Laws and Orders Relevant to Police Issues" , from the National Police Academy, no less, that mentions the powers held by Japanese police regarding stopping you and searching you on the street, and also entering your home.

http://www.npa.go.jp/english/seisaku7/hourei1-4.pdf

p.35:

(Questioning)
ARTICLE 2.
A police officer may stop and question any person who has reasonable ground to be suspected of having committed or being about to commit a crime judging reasonably from his or her unusual behaviors and/or other surrounding circumstances, or who is deemed to have some information on the crime which has already been committed or is about to be committed.

2. In case a police officer considers that such questioning on the spot as that provided for in the preceding paragraph will disadvantage the subject person or impede traffic, he may ask him or her to come with him to a nearby police station, police box or residential police box for that purpose.

3. Any person provided for in the preceding two paragraphs shall not be detained by the authorities, or be taken into a police station, a police box or a residential police box by force, or be coerced to answer his questions against his or her will as long as it is not based on the laws concerning criminal proceedings.

4. With regard to the person who is under arrest in accordance with the law concerning criminal procedure, a police officer may search his or her personal belongings for any possible weapons.

So, seems they can stop you on suspicion with reasonable grounds, question you and take you "downtown", but can't hold you without arresting you, and it seems you can refuse to accompany them.

One thing I wasn't sure about was searching. I've been stopped by the police before and ordered to empty my pockets. I wasn't sure if this was standard procedure, but I complied.
Looks like you can refuse if there is no reasonable ground for them to check, and you aren't under arrest. Fair enough, if you've been arrested they should check for weapons.


p.38:

(Entry)
ARTICLE 6. In case any dangerous situation provided for in the preceding two Articles has occurred, and any lives, physical bodies or property of the people are in jeopardy, a police officer, if he deems it inevitably necessary in order to prevent the danger, hold the spread of damage in check, or give relief to sufferers, may enter any person’s land, building, vessel or vehicle, within the limits reasonably judged necessary.

2. The manager or proprietor, or any person in any corresponding position, of a place of performance, hotel, restaurant, railway-station or any other place whereto a crowd of people access, cannot, without good reason, deny a police officer to enter his or her premises during its business hours if he or she is demanded the entry by the police officer for the purpose of preventing a crime or a danger imperiling any lives, physical bodies or properties of the people.

3. In making entry under the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs, a police officer shall not interfere arbitrarily with the lawful operation of the business of the person concerned.

4. In making entry under the provision of either paragraph 1 or paragraph 2, a police officer, if requested, shall tell the manager or proprietor, or the person in any corresponding position, the reason for his entry, and moreover show such person his certificate of identification.

This was another thing I wasn't sure about, the police entering your house. I have let the police into my house before. My guess was kind of right; they're like vampires, they can't really come in unless you invite them. (Or, like it says in paragraph 1, if a cop deems it necessary to protect lives, physical bodies, or property.



Heres a page from debito.org that has some advice for foreigners in Japan, "What to do if...", including being arrested, stopped by the police, getting a lawyer etc.

http://www.debito.org/whattodoif.html

Provides links too, to an English translation of the Japanese constitution, and a "quick and dirty" downlow on the law when you get stopped.

http://www.debito.org/instantcheckpointsbrief.html

 

[Saibai]

Some info on drug testing of employees in Japan:

Previously drug tests could only be conducted by a doctor at a registered hospital. However in October 2001 a US company obtained a licence to sell instant drug urinalysis kits in Japan. The kits work in a similar manner to pregnancy tests, are simple to use and can detect hallucinogens, anti-depressants, opiates, cocaine and stimulants including amphetamine and marijuana. The kits can only be sold to registered doctors and must be administered in their presence.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, drug tests can be made a requirement in the employee's pre-hire health check and also as part of the employee's annual heath check up. Since there are no minimum requirements for a pre-hire health check, it is possible for a company to have drug screening as the only test in the check. In such a case the test must be conducted with the consent of the individual and the employee's right to privacy must be taken into consideration. In respect of the annual health check up, the Ministry does specify the minimum checks that must be included but companies are free to include additional checks outside the specified list as they feel necessary. It would therefore be possible to include drug screening as an additional test in the health check, as long as the employee's consent was obtained. The Ministry also confirmed that a company can conduct health checks as and when required. It is therefore possible for a company to request an employee suspected of drug abuse to take a voluntary drug screening test at any time during their period of employment.

Should the test result be positive the action required by the doctor and company is dependent upon the following:

1. If the test shows traces of stimulants as defined under the Stimulant Control Law i.e. methamphetamine etc, there is no obligation to take further action.

2. If the test shows traces of Narcotics as defined under the Narcotics Law, the doctor is only under obligation to report the case to the police if he believes that the individual is a habitual user. One positive test result is not sufficient to show habitual use.

3. In the event that the doctor and company decide to make a police report, the test sample should be re-examined at a hospital. The examination certificate should be used by the doctor as the basis for the police report.

4. If the doctor and company are unsure what action to take, advice should be sought from the local Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare.

Excerpt from the following website:

http://www.brookeconsulting.com/en/module/itemdetails.php?catid=2&id=40

The address says Brooke Consulting, but they seem to be calling themselves "First Advantage". They're a "provider of pre-employment screening solutions in the Asia region"...background checks, including but not limited to drug testing.
Notice that it doesn't mention if doctors/employers are obligated to inform the police if cannabis is detected, although it mentions that there is no obligation for stimulants and "narcotics".

In related news, a warrant has been ordered for the arrest of an Australian former rugby player that was in Japan playing for Mitsubishi's company team.

The warrant was issued when he was out of the country, visiting Australia. Its a bit strange because the police won't talk about it, and he was initially released without charge after the test. (They say it takes about 24hrs to get the results. So why wasn't he arrested as soon as they knew?)

From the article:

Initial reports suggested the former Waratah tested positive for marijuana. However, under the Cannabis Control Law, the use of marijuana is not an arrestable offense.

Recent reports have suggested Kasprowicz is in fact being investigated under the more serious Narcotics Control Law. Those that know the 31-year-old have said that would be totally out of character.

The penalties for breaking either the Narcotics Control or the Cannabis Control laws are pretty much exactly the same, as well as the Stimulants law, for that matter. They all mention jail time usually with forced labour, between 3-10 years.

I suppose you could argue that technically it doesn't mention that consumption is not explicitly defined as illegal, only cultivation, possession and selling/distribution…but they way they word it here, you’d think its decriminalized or something.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/sports/20080904TDY20301.htm




Note: the first link up there has some stats on amphetamine use in Japan:

Japan is currently one of Asia's largest consumers of methamphetamines and authorities believe that as of 2001 there were an estimated 600,000 addicts and 2.18 million casual users of methamphetamines in Japan (Narcotics 2001).

Fun fact: Methamphetamine was first created in 1893 by Nagayoshi Nagai, in Japan. Crystallized Methamphetamine - crystal meth - was first created in 1919 Akira Ogata - again, Japan.
To be fair, amphetamine had been synthesized in 1887 by a German, Lazar Edeleanu...the Japanese just took it and made it better (worse? lol). Sound familiar?

 

[VanVulpen]

To be fair, amphetamine had been synthesized in 1887 by a German, Lazar Edeleanu...the Japanese just took it and made it better (worse? lol). Sound familiar?

yap, it sounds familiar... Lazar Edeleanu was actually a Romanian chemist, i should know, i'm from Romania too