More Cannabis than Stimulants Offenders for First Time in Japan in 2023

In 2023, 6,703 people were detained for cannabis-related offenses in Japan by the police, the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare’s Narcotics Control Department, or other enforcement agencies.

The overall number of drug offenders rose 9.46% year on year to 13,815 in 2023. The number of people detained for stimulants-related offenses fell by 3.43% to 6,073, in the eighth consecutive year of decline. As the number of cannabis offenders soared by 20.9% to 6,703, this was more than the number of stimulants offenders for the first time. The number of people detained for offenses related to narcotics and psychotropics rose by 31.9% to a record 1,033.

In total, 1,601.6 kilograms of stimulants were seized, up 237% year on year. Other seizures included 850 kilograms of dried cannabis (up 157%), 56.2 kilograms of cocaine (up 31.3%), and 169,743 pills of MDMA and other synthetic drugs (up 77.5%).

Of the 6,703 cannabis offenders, 4,887 or 72.9% were under 30, and 1,246 or 18.6% were under 20.

The number of cannabis offenders was 3.7 times higher in 2023 than in 2014. It was 6.6 times greater for those under 30 and 15.6 times greater for those under 20, showing the growing problem among young people. A total of 76.4% of those detained for cannabis-related offenses were first-time offenders.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Cannabis plants in a warehouse in Koga, Ibaraki Prefecture. Photo taken on April 23, 2024. Courtesy Saitama Prefectural Police; © Jiji.)