Tag - drugs

 
 

DRUGS

Police officers examine a scene where South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun was found dead at a park in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Society
Dec 29, 2023
In South Korea, an unrelenting stance on drugs batters suspected users
Treatment experts say that authorities focus too much on punishment rather than rehabilitation.
An ambulance (left) carrying the body of South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun leaves a park in central Seoul on Wednesday. Lee, best known for his role in the Oscar-winning film "Parasite," was found dead in an apparent suicide, Yonhap news agency reported.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Dec 27, 2023
'Parasite' actor Lee Sun-kyun found dead amid drug allegations
Lee had been under investigation amid an ongoing government crackdown on illegal drug use.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 22, 2023
Japan bans sale of 38 goods with synthetic cannabis compounds
The ban applies to items containing any of five substances, including hexahydrocannabiphorol and tetrahydrocannabiphorol acetate.
South Korean Lee Kyung-woo was sentenced to life in prison in October for the kidnapping and murder of a 48-year-old woman over a crypto dispute.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 13, 2023
Crypto and ketamine: The murder that shocked South Korea
Case resembling K-drama plot emerges in safe and almost drug-free country where violent killings are rare.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2023
Marijuana sees image shift as Japan revises control law
The revised cannabis control law, enacted in early December, will allow the use of medicines containing substances derived from cannabis.
A man harvests opium as he works in an opium field outside Loikaw, Myanmar.
ASIA PACIFIC / Crime & Legal
Dec 12, 2023
Myanmar overtakes Afghanistan as world's biggest opium producer
Myanmar produced an estimated 1,080 metric tons of opium this year, according to the latest report by the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime.
Police have arrested a 58-year-old man after a 16-year-old female high school student was found dead in an apartment in Osaka Prefecture, apparently from a cough medicine overdose.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 8, 2023
Man arrested on kidnapping charge after overdose death in Osaka
An autopsy found that the kidnapped 16-year-old female student had a fatal amount of cough medicine ingredients inside her body.
A pharmacist holds a box of Novo Nordisk A/S Wegovy brand semaglutide medication.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 7, 2023
Can Wegovy fight alcoholism? For Big Pharma, this isn’t a priority
Reluctance underscores reasons why no new treatment has been approved for alcoholism in nearly 20 years.
An area known as Toyoko in the Kabukicho entertainment district in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 6, 2023
High school girl arrested for selling cough medicine illegally
The arrest coincides with a surge of young people in Japan abusing over-the-counter drugs, such as cold medicine.
JAPAN / Society
Dec 4, 2023
Nihon University chair vows to continue reforms despite calls to quit
The vice president and president have decided to resign to take responsibility for a drug scandal involving the American football team.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 1, 2023
Nihon University football player admits to drug charges
The trial was concluded the same day, with the prosecution seeking an 18-month imprisonment and the defense asking for a suspended sentence.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2023
Nihon University to disband American football club over drug scandal
The decision brings an end to the 83-year history of one of the nation’s most prominent college football teams.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2023
Nihon University vice president sues chairperson over power harassment
Yasuhiro Sawada has claimed Mariko Hayashi used her superiority to paint him as being solely responsible for the mishandling of a drug scandal.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 23, 2023
Nihon University recommends resignations over cannabis scandal
In August, a member of the football club was arrested for alleged possession of cannabis and an illegal stimulant.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 22, 2023
4 youths nabbed for unauthorized cough medicine sales
Reports indicate that more young people in Japan are overdosing on over-the-counter drugs such as cold pills and cough medicine.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2023
Japan to ban marijuana-derived substance found in gummy candies
An expert panel at the health ministry decided to officially add the HHCH synthetic compound to a drug list, with the ban taking effect from Dec. 2.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2023
Bill to legalize cannabis-derived drugs clears Japan’s Lower House
The bill was sent to the Upper House the same day. If approved there, changes stipulated in the bill will likely go into effect by the end of next year.
JAPAN / Society
Oct 31, 2023
Nihon University staff downplayed drug use problem, report says
The report shows how the university’s system of governance led to the delay in taking action against the American football team’s culture of drug use.
Yasuhiro Sawada, vice president of Nihon University, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2023
University official 'sad' about calls to quit over drug scandal
Two members of the football club have been arrested in the scandal so far — one in August and the other in October.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2023
Drug scandal at Nihon University American football club seen spreading
The university suspended the football club's activities indefinitely in August following the arrest of one person the same month over cannabis.

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan