Since there have been a number of cases of people being transported by ambulance after ingesting "dangerous drugs" sold under names such as "legal cannabis", the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare held a countermeasure meeting with the National Police Agency and others and confirmed that it will strengthen control.
The government regulates drugs that may cause health hazards as "designated drugs", but according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, dangerous drugs that change part of the structure of cannabis components are sold under names such as "legal cannabis", and there are a number of cases where they are transported by ambulance after ingestion.
On the 29th, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the National Police Agency, which are in charge of drug control, held a meeting, in which it was reported that 1 cases of health hazards of dangerous drugs, including "legal cannabis", were confirmed from January to August.
Specifically, there were cases where people who ingested dangerous drugs were transported with symptoms such as loss of consciousness, vomiting, and difficulty breathing, in addition to causing traffic accidents while driving.
More than 8% of the people were in their 16s or younger.
In addition, last year, there was a case where a person who ingested it fell from an apartment building and was transported.
In addition, as of the end of August, there were about 30 stores selling dangerous drugs nationwide, and in addition to physical stores and online stores, there were also delivery stores that could be requested for delivery.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) will investigate the actual conditions of stores selling dangerous drugs and conduct on-site inspections in cooperation with other ministries and agencies.
Men selling "legal cannabis"
We interviewed a man who sells dangerous drugs with components similar to cannabis on an Internet site under the name of "legal cannabis".
The men's site does not handle "designated drugs" that are subject to national regulations and prohibited from being possessed or sold, so they sell drugs with components similar to cannabis for several thousand yen to tens of thousands of yen.
The customers range in age, from university students to those in their 70s, and sometimes about 1 orders are received in one day, which means that sales are about 30 million to 200 million yen a month.
The man who runs the site said, "Even if the government restricts it, there are many cases where vendors sell out at a discount before it becomes illegal. I was talking.
Expert: "It is important to regulate similar structures collectively"
Professor Masahiko Funata of Shonan University of Health Sciences, who is an expert on the harmfulness of drugs, explains the background to the spread of dangerous drugs, saying, "Dangerous drugs can be purchased at stores and on the web, making them easier to obtain. I explained.
Regarding health hazards, he said, "It is likely that it contains something that has a very strong effect, the concentration may not be constant, and there is a risk that the impurities contained are toxic. In particular, the liquid type called liquid is heated and sucked, so there are cases where it shows serious toxicity to the lungs, so I would like you to recognize that it is a product that requires extreme caution."
On top of that, as a countermeasure, he said, "It has been repeated that even if a single drug is regulated, new ones come out one after another, resulting in a cat-and-mouse game between regulation and distribution. He points out.