The tightening of the legislation partly responds to the increase of arrests linked to the consumption of this psychoactive drug, especially in the young population.

Activities such as cultivation, possession and trafficking of cannabis have long been prohibited and criminalized in Japan.

However, a new amendment will now allow the use of medicines made from marijuana derivatives, as well as the cultivation of this plant in order to collect raw materials for the production of drugs and other products.

According to experts, derivatives of this plant have proven to be useful in the treatment of medical conditions such as intractable epilepsy, among others.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare reported that criminal cases related to cannabis in Japan last year exceeded for the first time the number of methamphetamine cases, and 70 percent of the investigations involved minors under 30 years of age.

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