脱法ドラッグ 規制強化で若者への蔓延防げ

The Yomiuri Shimbun December 3, 2013
Apply new law effectively to curb use of quasi-legal drugs by young people
脱法ドラッグ　規制強化で若者への蔓延防げ（12月2日付・読売社説）

The use of so-called quasi-legal drugs must be checked from spreading further among young people.
　いわゆる「脱法ドラッグ」が若者の間にこれ以上、蔓延(まんえん)するのを食い止めなくてはならない。

A bill to revise the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law designed to ban the possession, use and purchase of these hazardous substances has passed through the House of Representatives.
　脱法ドラッグの所持や使用、購入を禁止する薬事法改正案が衆院を通過した。

The bill provides for imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to ¥3 million for violations. It should be passed into law as soon as possible so its provisions can be enforced.
　違反者には、３年以下の懲役または３００万円以下の罰金が科される。規制強化のため、早期の成立が望まれる。

Quasi-legal drugs are not subject to laws and regulations, despite the fact that people who use them hallucinate or develop other symptoms similar to those caused by narcotics or stimulant drugs.
　脱法ドラッグとは、麻薬や覚醒剤に似た幻覚、興奮作用がありながら、法による取り締まりの対象にならない薬物を指す。

The drugs can cause serious health problems such as disturbed consciousness and breathing difficulty. There have been a spate of fatal cases. Last year, 209 people were taken to the hospital by ambulance in Tokyo alone after using the drugs, a marked increase from the 11 such cases in the previous year.
　使用すると、意識障害、呼吸困難など深刻な健康被害を招く恐れがある。死亡例も相次いでいる。昨年は東京都内だけで２０９人が救急車で搬送され、前年の１１人から大幅に増えた。

In some cases, drivers who had used the drugs struck and killed pedestrians. In one case, a man who had used them intruded into the premises of a primary school and chased students around. The use of the drugs should be considered a threat to public safety.
　吸引して車を運転し、歩行者を死亡させた例がある。小学校に侵入して児童を追い回す事件も起きた。治安面でも看過できない。

Also worrisome is the fact that the use of such substances has spread among minors.
　未成年者に乱用が広がっていることも憂慮される。

According to a survey of about 50,000 middle school students, 120 said they have taken quasi-legal drugs. Sixty percent of the users said they also took stimulant drugs.
　約５万人の中学生を対象に行われた調査では、１２０人が「脱法ドラッグを使った経験がある」と回答している。そのうち６割が覚醒剤を使用していた。

This shows quasi-legal drugs may be “gateway drugs,” as people who casually take them face a risk of eventually using narcotics and stimulant drugs.
　脱法ドラッグが麻薬や覚醒剤に手を染める「入り口」になっていることを示すデータだ。

Measures urgently needed

To prevent young people from being trapped in a vicious circle of drug abuse and addiction, measures must be urgently taken.
若者が薬物依存の深みにはまるのを防ぐためにも、対策は急務である。

These substances are sold almost openly under such names of “legal herbs” and “legal aroma” in entertainment areas and on the Internet. Many of them can be bought for several thousand yen.
　「合法ハーブ」「合法アロマ」などと称し、繁華街やインターネットで半ば公然と売られている。数千円で買えるものが多い。

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry categorizes quasi-legal drugs as “designated items” based on the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. Currently, however, the drugs are regulated only for their production, import and sales.
　厚生労働省は、脱法ドラッグを薬事法に基づく「指定薬物」としているが、規制の対象は現在、製造や輸入、販売に限っている。

Probably behind the abuse of such substances is the ease of their use, which so far has not been legally penalized. Punishing both sellers and users is appropriate. Penalties under the revised law are nearly as severe as those for violations of the Stimulant Drugs Control Law and the Narcotics Control Law.
　使っても刑罰が及ばない気安さが、乱用の背景にあるのだろう。売る側だけでなく、使う側も処罰の対象とするのは適切な措置だ。法改正により、覚醒剤取締法や麻薬取締法に次いで重い罰則が科されることになる。

It is important to properly teach young people, both at home and at school, the danger and illegality of quasi-legal drugs.
　家庭や学校で、脱法ドラッグの危険性や違法性について、きちんと教えることが大切だ。

Some illegal substances whose chemical structures have been slightly changed to avoid being categorized as illicit drugs have been put on the market one after another, frustrating authorities.
　脱法ドラッグを巡っては、薬物指定を逃れるため、化学構造を少し変えた薬物が次々に登場し、イタチごっこが続いてきた。

This spring, the ministry imposed a comprehensive ban on substances that do not have the exact chemical structures as substances subject to punishment but share their primary components. The ban makes it possible for narcotics officers to apprehend violators.
　厚労省は今春、類似薬物に一括して網をかける「包括指定」を導入した。麻薬取締官による摘発も可能にした。

If the revised bill is passed into law, the overall framework of regulations will have been changed to make it possible for related measures to be implemented steadily.
今回の改正案が成立すれば、規制の枠組みが整い、対策は着実に前進しよう。

The reinforcement of regulation is also considered an effective way to contain crime syndicates, which use drug trafficking as a source of funds.
　薬物を資金源とする暴力団を封じ込めるためにも、規制強化は有効と言える。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 2, 2013)
（2013年12月2日02時06分  読売新聞）