In Japan, there have been a series of cases of people being taken to hospitals after eating jelly containing marijuana-like ingredients, and the police have launched an investigation.
According to NHK and the Mainichi Shimbun on the 16th, at around 11:30 p.m. the night before, two men and women in their 20s in Itabashi Ward, Tokyo, called 119 and were taken to the hospital, saying, “After eating jelly, my body became abnormal and I was in pain.” They complained of numbness in their hands and feet and nausea, but it was reported that their lives were not in danger.
They told the police, “We bought jellies at a store in Ikebukuro and ate them one at a time while drinking.” A Metropolitan Police Agency official said that the jelly packaging they bought had the name of a synthetic chemical called ‘HHCH’ (hexahydrocannabihexol), which has a similar structure to a marijuana-derived ingredient, and that the Food and Drug Administration is currently analyzing the ingredients.
Previously, on the 4th, six men and women in their 10s to 50s showed symptoms of vomiting and were taken to the hospital after eating jelly given out for free by a man in his 40s at a festival held in Koganeishi, Tokyo. The festival organizers found the man and reported it to the Metropolitan Police Department, and during the police investigation, the man reportedly claimed, “I gave it away because it was delicious to eat.”
A day earlier, on the 3rd, four men and women in their 20s on a Tokyo subway called 119 saying they were not feeling well and were taken to the hospital. It was found that they also ate jelly containing cannabis-like ingredients. According to the Metropolitan Police Department, there have been 11 cases of people complaining of pain after eating the jelly in question in Tokyo this month alone.
TBS reported that ‘HHCH’ is a synthetic compound similar to ‘THC’ (tetrahydrocannabinol). THC is a harmful ingredient contained in cannabis, and its production and distribution is prohibited by law in Japan because it causes hallucinations. The media reported that the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been regulating the sale of jellies containing ‘THCH’, a THC-like ingredient, since August, but ‘HHCH’ has not yet been regulated.
It is known that the jelly in question was manufactured by a company in Osaka. Accordingly, Osaka city authorities inspected the company’s manufacturing plant based on the Food Sanitation Act on the 10th, but no hygiene problems were found.
Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama raised his voice, saying, “Investigators found powder, which is the raw material for jelly, but could not analyze the substance because ‘HHCH’ is not subject to regulation.” He added, “It must be regulated by law as soon as possible.”
Kim So-young,
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.