A record 4,321 individuals were involved in cannabis cases in the country of Japan in 2019. This is up 743 from the previous year. It is also the sixth consecutive year of increase said the police this week.
The number of those aged 14 to 19 involved in cannabis cases probed by the police soared 4.4-fold from 2.0 per 100,000 people in that age group in 2015 to 8.7, according to the National Police Agency data.
The agency also revealed that the number of people in their 20s per 100,000 more than doubled to 15.5 from 6.9 in the same period.
Overall, 4.3 individuals per 100,000 were involved in cannabis offenses last year compared to just 2.1 in 2015.
Of the 4,321 people, 609 were aged between 14 and 19, up 180, or up about 42 percent from the previous year, and 1,950 among those in their 20s, up 429, or about 28 percent.
“It is necessary to correctly inform them about the harmful effects (of cannabis) such as a severe influence on cognitive functions and higher risk of developing mental symptoms,” the agency said of younger individuals.
Among the young cannabis offenders last year, 109 were high school students and six were junior high school students, with the youngest being a 14-year-old male student.
