News Japan staying tough on medicinal cannabis

CBD is legal in Japan, thanks to a regulatory loophole, and its purported properties - ranging from suppressing inflammation to encouraging relaxation and sleep - make it an attractive product. Analysts estimate that annual demand for the supplement in Japan could grow to $800 million by 2024. "With CBD, a lot of new people who have never been interested in either medical or recreational cannabis are entering the market. It's like a new door opened," Ms Miki said. For entrepreneurs hoping to cash in on the "green rush" sparked by the loosening of marijuana laws in North America and Europe, Japan is a beguiling market. The world's third-largest economy and greyest society, the country offers an ideal demographic: health-conscious, ageing consumers with abundant disposable income and a bottomless appetite for supplements that promise to balm their ills. But Japan also has some of the most restrictive cannabis laws in East Asia, a region known for its intolerance of drugs. None of the countries there are close to allowing recreational marijuana. But Taiwan and South Korea have both legalized medical marijuana amid mounting evidence of its efficacy. And China is the world's largest producer of industrial hemp and related products. (CBD can be made, but not used, there.)

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