Pubdate: Tue, 07 Aug 2012
Source: Japan Times (Japan)
Copyright: 2012 The Japan Times
Contact:  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/755
Author: Mizuho Aoki

FYI Quasi-Legal Herbs

CURBS AFOOT AS NARCOTIC QUASI-LEGAL HERBS SLIP THROUGH REGULATORY CRACKS

The use of "dappo habu" (quasi-legal herbs) that are dried and mixed
with stimulants to make narcotics is spreading, and many people are
ending up in hospitals for drug poisoning.

Some people under the influence of the herbs, which are often smoked,
have even caused traffic accidents.

Figures by the Metropolitan Police Department show that increasing
numbers of younger people are using them.

Between Jan. 1 and May 30 alone, 100 people in Tokyo needed to be
rushed to hospitals after inhaling the herbs, including 51 in their
20s and 13 under 20 years old. The youngest was a 14-year-old junior
high school student, according to MPD statistics.

Experts say the unregulated herbs appeared on the Internet around 2004
and have been directly marketed in Japan since around 2009. They warn
the herbs can pose serious health risks and the government is trying
to legally curb their use.

What exactly are the quasi-legal herbs in question?

They are a mixture of herbs laced with stimulants whose chemical
components are slightly different from those found in illegal narcotics.

The products are usually packaged as "herbal incense," but most people
who purchase them smoke them to get high. The herbs are usually of two
types, one offering a sensation akin to smoking cannabis and the other
more like a stimulant, experts said.

They are marketed at shops, on the Internet and even in vending
machines, costing about Y4,000 or Y5,000 for a pouch containing about
3 grams.

Some of the shops also sell unregulated liquid "aroma" and "bath salt"
powders that are mixed with the narcoticlike chemicals.

How many shops sell the herbs?

There were 389 dealers in 29 prefectures who were selling the herbs as
of March, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said.

By prefecture, Tokyo had the most, at 94, followed by 73 in Osaka and
34 in Aichi.

The number of vendors is increasing rapidly. In Tokyo, the number of
identified stores and online shops selling the herb mixture surged
from only two in 2009 to 97 as of June 14, according to the
metropolitan government.

If the herbs are quasi-legal, does this mean it is OK to sell
them?

Even if quasi-legal herbs do not contain banned substances, vendors
can be violating the law if they sell them specifically for ingestion,
according to a health ministry official.

But all sellers have to do is tell authorities they are selling the
herbs as "incense" to avoid legal action, the official said.

What kinds of health risks do the herbs pose?

Some of the quasi-legal herbs contain synthetic cannabinoid, a
chemical substance that is similar to cannabis but more harmful,
according to Masahiko Funada, who heads a group of researchers on
addictive drugs at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry in
Tokyo.

"There certainly is a possibility of addiction," Funada said.
"Synthetic cannabinoid's toxicity is very high."

Recently, the chemical compound alpha-PVP, which is similar to a
stimulant drug, was also found in "herb incense," the expert said.

"The most dangerous part of this quasi-legal herb is that you never
know exactly what it contains. And you never know how much the product
contains," Funada said, noting that no two packages are likely to have
the same level of ingredients.

Funada also warned that the gray-zone herbs are increasingly being
made with more diverse chemicals.

The "herbal mixture products" used to contain only one or two kinds of
synthetic cannabinoid. But variations of the blends have been
increasing recently, such as those with three synthetic cannabinoids
or mixtures of alpha-PVP and synthetic cannabinoids.

And it is difficult to guess what harm these new mixes pose, Funada
warned.

He said people who ingest the concoctions are turning themselves into
human guinea pigs. "I want people to recognize that it is really dangerous."

Why aren't such harmful drugs criminalized? Aren't there laws to ban
them?

It depends on whether an herbal mixture contains a
government-designated narcotic substance.

The government targets substances that have been proven to have a
harmful effect on health, including those that cause hallucinations or
intoxication.

The Pharmaceutical Affairs Law bans making, importing, selling, giving
or storing for sale drugs designated as illegal.

As of Monday, there were 77 so-designated chemical substances.
Violators face less than five years in prison or a fine under Y5 million.

However, the law does not ban the possession or use of such designated
illegal drugs, thus leaving users off the hook.

To curb the abuse of quasi-legal drugs, the government is trying to
list their ingredients as designated illegal drugs so dealers can't
sell them.

The health ministry wants to speed up the designation process, which
now can take more than a year because their danger must be proven and
backed by experts.

But how effective the designation will be is questionable, because
even if the ministry lists more chemical substances as designated
narcotics, dealers will slightly alter their chemical structures to
stay within the legal loopholes.

"It's like playing cat-and-mouse," said Nahomi Oonuki, a section chief
at the Bureau of Social Welfare and Public Health in the Tokyo
Metropolitan Government.

"Whenever we list a new chemical substance as a designated drug,
another one with a slightly different (chemical structure) comes out.
This happens repeatedly," Oonuki said.

Is there any way the central or local governments can ban quasi-legal
drugs?

The health ministry plans to introduce a more comprehensive system for
designating illegal drug components. The envisioned new system enables
the government to designate several substances at once that have the
same basic chemical structure.

The ministry said they are scheduled to hold a panel meeting around
November to discuss the establishment of the new system.

It also plans to set up a call center this fiscal year to solicit
information from the public on quasi-legal herbs.

Apart from central government-mandated curbs, the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government has its own ordinance for designating drug components. As
of Friday, five drug components were listed as governor-designated
illegal drugs, after the substances were confirmed to cause
hallucinations, intoxication or other euphoria and, in abusive
quantities, be harmful to health.

The sales of governor-designated illegal drugs would be subject to
punishment.
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