Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by VAUGHN, M. S.
Right arrow Articles by RAMIREZ, C. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

The British Journal of Criminology 35:491-524 (1995)
© 1995 Centre for Crime & Justice Studies (formerly ISTD)

RESEARCH-ARTICLE

DRUG ABUSE AND ANTI–DRUG POLICY IN JAPAN

Past History and Future Directions

MICHAEL S. VAUGHN, FRANK F. Y. HUANG and CHRISTINE ROSE RAMIREZ*

This paper traces the abuse of drugs and anti-drug policy in Japan during the pre-war, war, and post-war eras. The analysis is divided into six historical periods that examine the purported antecedents, the historical background, and the various governmental and societal countermeasures adopted to combat the drug problem. Producers, traffickers, and consumers of drugs in Japan are identified and discussed. The paper also addresses drug countermeasures including responses from legislatures, society, criminal justice personnel, and the medical community. The paper argues that Japan's ‘war on drugs’ in the 1980s was a direct result of pressure from the United States to adopt harsher sanctions and from a punitive Japanese public that associates drug use with poor self-control. It concludes that Japan should not emulate the punitive policies of the United States because they are inconsistent with historical criminal justice practices in Japan and because little evidence shows they have reduced supply or demand in the United States.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Int J Offender Ther Comp CriminolHome page
S. Cheurprakobkit, P. Kuntee, and M. S. Vauhgn
Drugs in Thailand: Assessing Police Attitudes
Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol, March 1, 1998; 42(1): 81 - 100.
[Abstract]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.