Marijuana Activism in Japan?

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

It's funny that something not taxed by the Federal Government is considered a 'gateway drug' -- but something that the Government profits from, and is clearly more dangerous, doesn't have this title.

Caffeine, Tobacco, Alcohol, prescription medication-- they surely aren't the gateway drug.


Personally, the Japanese government (and all governments, for that matter) could benefit greatly from Marijuana legalization (Considering California raked in 14 billion in revenue).

Since Japan has little renewable exports, the hemp industry is the perfect outlet... Paper, seed, clothing, rope, medicine-- all could be made in Japan!

Recently the Japanese government has labeled hemp, "okay as rope, not as dope." - which is a step in the right direction.

But the idea isn't widespread because of harsh titles and misinformation.




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In 1999, the National Institute on Drug Abuse commissioned a major study on medical marijuana conducted by the venerable Institute of Medicine, which included an examination of marijuana's potential to lead to other drug use. In simple terms, the researchers explained why the gateway theory was unfounded:

Patterns in progression of drug use from adolescence to adulthood are strikingly regular. Because it is the most widely used illicit drug, marijuana is predictably the first illicit drug most people encounter. Not surprisingly, most users of other illicit drugs have used marijuana first. In fact, most drug users begin with alcohol and nicotine before marijuana -- usually before they are of legal age.
…
There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.

It would be fair to point out that the garden variety hemp used to make ropes and such contains so little THC that smoking a bushel of it would not get you high. Hemp plants come in 2 sexes, male and female, male plants contain only scant traces of THC, and even female hemp plants contain a negligible amount. The marijuana plants grown for drug use are hybrid female plants which have been highly cultivated.

As for "conclusive" studies, the IPCC reports on climate change says there is not "conclusive" evidence that Global Warming is caused by man, and there are many who say there is no "conclusive" evidence that the Holocaust occurred. The problem with the word "conclusive" is that it is anything but; the definition is relative to the opinions of those who use it.

And as for "profiting" from taxes on alcohol or tobacco, the health costs outweigh the tax revenues, which results in a net loss to the economy. At the moment the government is trying to tax tobacco out of existence, and guess what? Cigarette smuggling is becoming popular.

[komitsuki]

As far as I know, meth is the main drug that the Japanese government is mostly concerned about.

[rilakkuma]

Originally Posted by seiki

The reason the use of marijuana is ended after they start using meth or heroin is because it is stronger so their tolerance levels have raised and it takes more marijuana to get the same high. So this makes it a gate way drug.

Also i do not see the legalization of marijuana in america coming because groups such as norml are pretty much seen as a joke to everyone except people who use marijuana.

It seems to be this way in Japan.

I also see alcohol and tabacco as a controlled substance but they don't seem to alter your mind or activities as easily.

This is like my first post on here.. but I just had to reply because this comment is so completely wrong and uninformed it hurts. Marijuana is not similar to meth or heroin in any way. The high is not similar and there is no cross tolerance between them. Doing meth or heroin will not make your tolerance to weed stronger, and vice versa. The only reason weed is considered a gateway drug is because it is illegal. Someone who sells weed often sells other drugs that are harmful.

Alcohol and tobacco are both physically addictive. Tobacco causes over 435,000 deaths a year, the number one cause of death in America. Alcohol comes in third (after poor diet and physical inactivity) with 85,000 deaths a year.
There are no deaths attributed to Marijuana use.

[burkhartdesu]

Originally Posted by seiki

I also see alcohol and tabacco as a controlled substance but they don't seem to alter your mind or activities as easily.

You're telling us that alcohol doesn't alter your mind easily? Have you ever smoked marijuana or drank? You are completely uninformed and you are doing exactly what the Government wants you to do: follow the herd.

Smoking marijuana is the most victimless crime around. The jail systems are infested with people who aren't criminals because of our obsession with "reefer madness"


Hemp and smokeable cannabis have been in Japanese and Chinese culture since the beginning of time, and there are obvious efforts around the world to end prohibition.


"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.

Cannabis has grown in Japan since the Neolithic Jomon period (10,000 to 300 BC). The term "Jomon" itself means "pattern of ropes", which were certainly made of cannabis hemp. These ancient people lived a civilized, comfortable existence, and used cannabis for weaving clothing and basket making, as well as using the seeds as a food source. What isn't clear however, is when and how the seeds arrived in Japan.

Some scholars insist that cannabis was abundant in Japan before contact with China or Korea. However, impartial analysis suggests that, like much of its culture, cannabis was almost certainly imported and adapted from China."


They still grow hemp in several parts of Japan:

[Hatredcopter]

If god meant for us to get high, he would have created plants that produced psychoactive effects when eaten or smoked! Err, wait...

[burkhartdesu]

Originally Posted by Hatredcopter

If god meant for us to get high, he would have created plants that produced psychoactive effects when eaten or smoked! Err, wait...

God said, "Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth.…To you it will be for meat." … And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. (Genesis 1:29-31)

And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. -- Ezekiel 34:29

[seiki]

Originally Posted by Hatredcopter

If god meant for us to get high, he would have created plants that produced psychoactive effects when eaten or smoked! Err, wait...

I think that that changes from a naturally occuring plant or substance when people cross plants and harvest engineer stronger pot so they can get high.

[seiki]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

You're telling us that alcohol doesn't alter your mind easily? Have you ever smoked marijuana or drank? You are completely uninformed and you are doing exactly what the Government wants you to do: follow the herd.

Smoking marijuana is the most victimless crime around. The jail systems are infested with people who aren't criminals because of our obsession with "reefer madness"


Hemp and smokeable cannabis have been in Japanese and Chinese culture since the beginning of time, and there are obvious efforts around the world to end prohibition.


"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.

Cannabis has grown in Japan since the Neolithic Jomon period (10,000 to 300 BC). The term "Jomon" itself means "pattern of ropes", which were certainly made of cannabis hemp. These ancient people lived a civilized, comfortable existence, and used cannabis for weaving clothing and basket making, as well as using the seeds as a food source. What isn't clear however, is when and how the seeds arrived in Japan.

Some scholars insist that cannabis was abundant in Japan before contact with China or Korea. However, impartial analysis suggests that, like much of its culture, cannabis was almost certainly imported and adapted from China."

I will say that i do not agree with smoking or drinking. Marijuana is just as much of a drug as any other and if i could have it my way people wouldn't drink or smoke cigarettes.
Would you consider it safe to drive while drunk? So how about driving while high? Or do people that are high on marijuana not drive? They just sit at home and wait to come down right. No they show up at my work place trying to order tacos.

[burkhartdesu]

You have no idea what you're talking about... You think all drugs have the same effects, addictiveness, etc.?

Chamomile has a sedative effect -- is it as evil as heroin? What about caffeine?

You need to research what you don't agree with.

Caffeine kills more people annually than Marijuana.

[burkhartdesu]

Originally Posted by seiki

I think that that changes from a naturally occuring plant or substance when people cross plants and harvest engineer stronger pot so they can get high.

People have been concentrating the THC in Marijuana into "hashish"... This has been going on for hundreds of years, and it's much more potent than modern day Cannabis.