Maybe he hated the school, infiltrated it as its principal
and then do something like that to give the school a bad reputation :p

Keep talking.

You mean she.

I meant the news article should be looked at on its own merits and details, instead of wandering off in a hypothetical direction bearing little resemblance to the facts.

tl;dr Time Magazine is not illegal, pot is.

Sorry, Koir, I am not sure what you are accusing me of. This woman and her husband are idiots for trying to import marijuana into a country where it is extremely illegal.

What is "wandering off" is arguing the merits or harmlessness of marijuana, because in Japan, it just doesn't matter.

It's not really 'wandering off', because the illegality of a harmless drug is the real problem.


Japanese can get shamelessly and dangerously drunk, but the thought of marijuana is social-blasphemy.



This is a great analogy. Telling someone what to read is just as ridiculous as telling them what they can/can't consume.

If this principal and her husband were arrested for trying to change the drug laws or for promoting the legalization of marijuana in Japan, then I would call it injustice.

But they were arrested for committing a crime everyone knows is very illegal in Japan and very frowned upon. They are also 1) in a very high profile position and 2) non-citizens. Two more reasons why committing this crime, or any crime, is stupid.

The reason for my analogy with Time magazine was this, given such a highly-regarded and surely high-paying position I would probably be willing to give up certain things in order to keep it. If I was being hired and the school said "You can't read Time magazine if you want to be principal here," I would probably say "Fine. No more Time magazine."

Exactly; it doesn't matter about the country or wether ganja should be legalised or not. If she'd been working for a high profile school in London and had been caught smuggling, she'd be in very hot water, just the same. It doesn't matter what the substance is either, the fact that she is a public figure in a position of respect, and she's abused it by how she chose to act. If she were drunk at work, she'd get fired and if she were fired, her visa sponsorship would likely be withdrawn and then she would be deported. That's not illegal, but an abuse of trust nonetheless. The fact that pot is illegal in Japan just landed her with a spell in a cell on top of things.

This is true, and was surely a stupid decision. It's a shame.

But seriously, as the OP said, they were 59 and 62 years old at the time. It's not as though they were in the business of selling the stuff. Who's to say? Maybe it was used for a particular medical condition that couldn't be treated otherwise.


Do you think they will serve jail time?


In general: It's tragic that a government would punish the elderly for possessing dried plant material [That has proven medicinal benefits]. Doesn't the idea of making nature against the law seem a little, unnatural?


In reality: Don't bring drugs into Japan, there are plenty more entertaining things to do.

59 and 62 are not considered "elderly." Whether it was medicinal or recreational doesn't matter, they are both illegal in Japan, and these people knew it.

I doubt there will ever be a trial. They will sit in jail until their paperwork is processed (week or two) and then be put on the next flight to their home country with a stamp in their passport saying they are not allowed re-entry into Japan.

You can describe marijuana as "dried plant material" in the same way you could describe anthrax as a "soft white powder".

The government isn't punishing anyone for carrying "dried plant material", they are punishing people for knowingly breaking the law. Is a crime less repugnant because of someone's age? If you were hit by a car driven by a 70 year old drunk driver, should the be treated any differently than if they were 30?

The benefits or otherwise of marijuana are not relevant in this situation. This school principle will not be sent to jail, she'll simply be deported after 10 days in a holding cell (like all the other foreign potheads are), and banned from ever returning. Once she arrives in America, she'll likely face federal charges because she and her husband used the US Post Office to transport the marijuana. Her case will probably be plead to a misdemeanor, but she's likely to lose her American teaching license.