Tokyo Reminds Olympic Visitors that Cannabis is Illegal

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]T[/dropcap]he Summer Olympics will be returning to the world again in 2020, and this time the festivities will be held in Tokyo, Japan. The event is still over one year away at this point (it will run July 24 through August 9 next year), but officials from the Tokyo Olympics are already beginning to warn soon-to-be visitors that cannabis is still illegal there.

Toshiro Muto, the chief executive of the Tokyo Olympics, informed the rest of the world that legal cannabis will not be tolerated there, no matter the circumstances at a press conference on June 11, according to the Star Tribune. “There are countries and some regions around the world that have relaxed rules recently,” Muto said, speaking through an interpreter. “Unfortunately, the use of cannabis constitutes a violation of law and that needs to be thoroughly communicated.”

While this wasn’t an official part of the press conference’s agenda, he wanted to make sure to include it as a tip to those visiting.  “The comment from the member is that it’s important that we inform all the participants that use of cannabis is prohibited by law in Japan,” Muto said.

While this may simply be a setback for some who want to party while they watch sports, the Tokyo Olympics team plans to take anti-doping for athletes seriously. According to Japan Today, cannabis will be included in those measures, alongside steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.

Although activists in Japan are starting to take a stand for legalization, there has not been much progress as of yet. Cannabis is illegal across the country, and some areas of Japan even outlaw the production of hemp. It is even rare in Japan to challenge current laws about hemp.

Tokyo is planning on making strides in other ways as host of the 2020 Olympics, including creating podiums made of recycled plastics.