Japan Party Backs Use of Medical Marijuana, Gets Mixed Reaction
Japan prides itself on having a low tolerance for guns and drugs, but a tiny political party has become the first to adopt an election plank of scrapping a research ban on medical use of marijuana.
Proponents say such use could ease cancer-related pain, prevent dementia, and cut soaring medical costs. But the government says its effectiveness has not been proved, and worries about the social harm weaker controls could bring.
Japan outlaws owning and growing marijuana, besides the ban on clinical research, despite a trend in advanced countries, such as Canada and the United States, to free up medical use.
"Faced with this sharp gap between Japan and the rest of the world, the public are at a loss which to believe," said Saya Takagi of the New Renaissance Party, founded by a former member of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party.
"We are proposing lifting the ban on research to...
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