Japan is known to have one of the strictest policies on cannabis, but something has been moving forward in recent months.

The country’s parliament passed a bill in December to legalize medical products containing cannabinoids, amending the Cannabis Control Law. However, at the same time,  it established new criminal penalties for the use of cannabis, putting an end to the legal loopholes that have surrounded cannabis consumption in Japan for years.

To grasp the importance of this reform and its consequences, it is essential to understand the complex cannabis legislation in Japan.

Japan, with a longstanding tradition of cannabis farming and religious practices, faced scrutiny after World War II when U.S. occupying forces called for a cannabis ban. The result was the 1948 Cannabis Control Act[1], which outlawed most hemp parts except mature stems and seeds, which were believed to be non-psychoactive.

Today, the Act criminalizes various cannabis-related activities, such as production and possession, but is silent on consumption, aiming to spare farmers from unintentionally inhaling cannabis crops. However, this omission creates a paradox—consumption is allowed, yet possession is criminalized, leading to legal loopholes. For example, discovering someone smoking a cannabis joint is not deemed illegal if the individual claims the joint does not belong to them, as reported in an article by TIME magazine[2].

So, what would it change with the new cannabis reform?

With the amended laws set to take effect within a year of promulgation, cannabis, and THC are classified as narcotics subject to regulation. Despite the existing prohibition on the possession and cultivation of cannabis in Japan, the country will now extend the ban to its use, carrying a potential prison sentence of up to seven years for violations.

While this indeed represents a step backward for the country toward legalization, the reform improves the legislation regarding cannabis for medical purposes.

The previous law prohibited administering or taking cannabis-derived medicines, but the revised law removed this restriction, placing cannabis in the “narcotics” category under the Narcotics Control Law. This effectively legalizes the use of cannabis-derived medicine in Japan, pending confirmation of efficacy and safety by Japanese authorities.

Previously, such medicines were restricted to clinical trials.

Individuals with intractable epilepsy, where existing drugs are less effective, await the potential administration of Epidiolex, a drug developed by the British company GW Pharmaceuticals. Epidiolex, containing cannabidiol (CBD) extracted from cannabis plants, has already received approval in the United States for treating intractable epilepsy.

[1] https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/2594/en

[2] https://time.com/6306213/japan-cannabis-laws-loopholes-legal-high/