KOBE, Japan — From an early age, Japanese society had conditioned Takayuki Miyabe to fear marijuana.
Desperately scouring the internet for a cure, he came upon an unexpected savior: a derivative of cannabis called CBD.
It won’t be easy.
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.
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.
There is no evidence that the plant was used in the past to get high, but hemp long figured in Japanese religious rituals, where it was valued as a symbol of purity.
Attitudes are changing, however.
In theory, the change would ease imports of products containing only trace amounts of THC, the primary molecule responsible for marijuana’s intoxicating properties.
The report also recommended allowing trials of cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals, such as Epidiolex, an anti-seizure medication made from CBD.
In September 2020, the authorities in Tokyo detained two people for 20 days for posting on social media about marijuana and encouraging others to try it.
Arrests for the drug have almost doubled over the past five years, passing 5,000 in 2020 for the first time, according to police data.
Punishments in Japan are generally light.
Today, chic Tokyo cafes sell oils, gummies and beer made with CBD.
“At this point, saying, hey, let’s legalize marijuana, I wouldn’t do that,” said Priyanka Yoshikawa, a former beauty queen who has launched a line of CBD-infused skin products.