JAPAN TIMES/KYODO NEWS (Japan)
YOKOHAMA – Japan is known for its vending machines: there is one on every street corner, selling anything from underwear and socks, to toys and green tea. But here’s one you may (or may not) be jonesing for: a vending machine that sells marijuana.
Last week police in Kanagawa, near Yokohama, raided a general store for selling “herbs containing cannabis-like ingredients’ reports the Japan Times. The shop’s owners weren’t dealing drugs from behind the counter, but instead took advantage of a legal loophole allowing them to install a vending machine — and pretend they don’t know what’s inside.
“Unless illegal ingredients are found in the drugs, police can only request that sale be restrained,” explains the newspaper. “Even if illegal substances are found, most vendors claim they are unaware of the fact.”
Police believe that there are more than 390 such vending machines around Japan.
Read the full article in the Japan Times.