It is not as obvious in Japan as it is in the west, but it can be found if one looks hard enough and knows the right people. Iron Chef and Revenant and quite on the mark in their comments. Wilst I was in Japan I had easy access to it for 15 years up till I was busted. Even after that I still had easy access to it if I wanted it as I knew where to go and who to get it from. Heck, I could still get it today if I wanted when I visit Japan.
Practically all my Japanese friends used marajuana or have at least tried it once. Among the young kids (late middle school and up), as Revenant quite correctly pointed out, glue sniffing was, and seems like it still is, in use. Also "speed" was a popular drug in Japan and might still be.
bossel said:
Yet now Japanese cannabis culture is making a comeback. Many Japanese youths have learned to enjoy marijuana while travelling overseas, while farmers and universities are researching and experimenting with industrial hemp. Activists and scholars are educating the Japanese people about cannabis' history and beneficial uses, and more Japanese are seeing the prohibition of cannabis as part of unwelcome American influence."
I do hope this holds true for when I retire there in a few years as it would be my drug of choice. As a user myself "back in the day" I never found it to be addicting nor has it messed me or my brain up in any way. I found it to be a wonderful "thinking" drug although I think "drug" is not the proper word for it. And I once smoked it every day for more than 7 years without missing a single day! However, I only smoked it at the end of the day when all my tasks were finished and never once worked or conducted serious business while under the influence. Nor, because of my job, have I used it in the last 10 years.
I recently read that the reason why marajuana is illegal is that it helps the brain to think more clearly by slowing it down and enabling it to process information at a more slower pace thus making one able to understand more clearly that which one is thinking about (Like the coming 'New World Order' or what is actually going on in the world around us today). Heaven forbid if the common man were to be able to comprehend what is going on around us. There might be a revolution!
Because of this factor of cannibis slowing down the brain and allowing it to REALLY THINK about one subject at a time, it is virtually impossible to do any work in modern society as today's society and lifestyle requires one to be constantly 'on the go' by working in order that we can pay our bills and credit cards and mortgages. By keeping the common man in debt and amusing him with sports and 'reality TV' the common man has no time to relax and think. And if he smoked the 'bad weed' he wouldn't be unable to function in a modern society. For this reason cannibis is illegal and will probably remain so here in the US and other countries like Japan. Hopefully that will change though.
