Is Weed Legal in Japan?

Recreational cannabis is illegal in Japan and now carries criminal penalties for use itself. The revised Cannabis Control Act took effect on December 12, 2024, closing a decades-old loophole that punished possession and sale but not consumption. Cannabis and THC are now classified as narcotics under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law, with simple use punishable by up to 7 years imprisonment. Trafficking for profit draws 1 to 10 years and fines up to JPY 3 million. The first use-based arrests occurred in Tokyo in March 2025 after urine tests confirmed cannabis metabolites.

A separate medical pathway opened under the same reform package. MHLW designated Epidiolex (cannabidiol) as an orphan drug in April 2024, and cannabis-derived pharmaceuticals can now be submitted for New Drug Application approval and prescribed by licensed physicians. Domestic medicinal cultivation falls under a new Type II license issued directly by the MHLW. Smokable cannabis remains banned in all forms, and foreign tourists face the same penalties as residents.