However, amphetamine usage only really became widespread in Sweden, Japan, Korea and the Philippines, countries that harshly prosecute users of soft drugs such as marijuana. According to Japanese police estimates, criminals make more than 10 times as much money from one kg of amphetamines than they do from one kg of cannabis. The number of people arrested for amphetamines also is about 10 times higher than for cannabis, suggesting that gangsters concentrate on what is most profitable. In the long term Japan will either have to build many more prisons or adopt a more tolerant policy towards some drugs. Last year there was one amphetamine arrest for every two prisoners in the country.
Japan is short of judges and lawyers.
It could not handle a large number of marijuana arrests when amphetamine arrests are so high. As the use of both amphetamines and cannabis are on the rise, Japanese policy makers will have to concentrate their limited resources on where they are most effective. Harm reduction Simply applying the same intolerant, inflexible approach to all currently illegal substances has only enabled organized criminals to reap huge profits from black market amphetamines, which are effective in minute doses, therefore more easily smuggled and hence more available than much less harmful cannabis. Stricter enforcement would only increase the health risks associated with drug use. It can be argued that a harm reduction approach would be more productive in the long term.