The New York TimesThe New York Times

Japan Stays Tough on Cannabis as Other Nations Loosen Up

By Ben Dooley, Hikari Hida

27 Oct 2021 · 6 min read

From an early age, Japanese society had conditioned Takayuki Miyabe to fear marijuana. But that was before his infant daughter was diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy.

Desperately scouring the internet for a cure, he came upon an unexpected savior: a derivative of cannabis called CBD. During a business trip to California, he bought a tiny amber bottle of the elixir, hoping for a miracle.

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