While cannabis in Japan is usually associated with negative images of crime and health problems, its positive effects have recently been attracting attention in the country.
A revised Cannabis Control Law was passed in early December, allowing the use of medicines containing cannabis-derived substances.
People with intractable epilepsy, for whom existing drugs are not very effective, are eagerly awaiting Epidiolex, a drug developed by a British company.
Epidiolex’s main ingredient is cannabidiol (CBD), a substance derived from the cannabis plant. The drug is already approved in the United States for the treatment of intractable epilepsy.
While clinical trials for Epidiolex are ongoing in Japan, the drug could not be used prior to the enactment of the revised Cannabis Control Act. If approved by the Minister of Health and Welfare and brought to market, it would offer a glimmer of hope for the 20,000 or so intractable epilepsy patients in Japan.
“I wonder how our lives would have been if this drug had been available much earlier,” said the mother of a 29-year-old man who suffers from Dravet syndrome, a form of intractable epilepsy.
The woman, who lives in Hakodate, Hokkaido, said it was “painful and agonising” to watch her son suffer sudden epileptic seizures. The seizures occur up to 40 to 50 times a day, according to his mother.
All kinds of medication have been tried, but to no avail. “I hope this drug will be available as soon as possible,” she said. “We plan to try it as soon as it is available.”
Interest in CBD products is growing.
According to a survey by the Yano Research Institute, the Japanese market for CBD-related products will total ¥18,541 million in 2021, up 85.9% year-on-year, and is estimated to reach ¥82,979 million by 2025.
CBD is used in a range of products, including dietary supplements, food, electronic cigarettes and beauty serums, and more and more stores are selling such goods.
Cannabis usually has negative connotations in Japan. Recently, people in the country who ate gummy bears containing hexahydrocannabihexol (HHCH), a synthetic compound similar to a psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, complained of feeling unwell. Cannabis-related crime also occurs.
CBD could change this bad image. “The market for CBD products is expected to expand further,” says Yano Research.