Silence around medical marijuana prolongs children's suffering
"It's nothing to do with me" is an attitude that isolates people
Medical marijuana – they don’t reject the term, but they don’t actively try to get involved. This “indifferent” group may be the most common in Japan today. But what if this indifference is preventing changes in the system and depriving people who need it of the option? Medical marijuana is now being recognized around the world as a treatment option for certain diseases. In the United States, the CBD formulation “Epidiolex” for intractable epilepsy has been officially approved, and in the UK and Israel, it can be prescribed at the doctor’s discretion. In fact, there are many reported cases where epileptic seizures have been dramatically reduced and children who could not sleep at night have returned to normal life. However, in Japan, there are still large gaps in the system, and a closed state of “it cannot be prescribed,” “research is not progressing,” and “even discussion is avoided” continues. The biggest factor is indifference, such as “not being interested” and “not wanting to touch it,” rather than opposition.
Your silence is prolonging someone's suffering.
While some children’s lives have been saved by CBD, there are also children in Japan who know about it but cannot use it. And many people are not even aware of this fact. Even if they speak out, it doesn’t reach them. Even if they disseminate information, it doesn’t spread. Even if they try to change the system, there is no social support. In this atmosphere, parents with children are isolated and continue to fight seizures every day without anyone understanding them. They worry that their children’s bodies may break down before the law is changed. It is not the loud minority that will move the system. The existence of the “aware majority” is the key to changing society. However, in the debate over medical marijuana, the majority remains silent.
It is those who think "it doesn't concern me" who are the ones who are concerned
Your children may never use it. You yourself will never be prescribed it. But please don’t forget that your “indifference” may be contributing to taking away other people’s choices. Unless the system changes, many people will not even be able to speak up. If they do, they will be criticized and looked upon with prejudice. That is the weight of the words “medical marijuana” in today’s Japanese society. It is not a few experts or politicians who will change that atmosphere. It is the gaze of each individual who realizes in their daily lives that “something is wrong.”
Your attitude affects someone's life
In business, fear of change means stagnation. The same is true in medicine and systems. Leaving a scientific option that the world already recognizes “undiscussed”. It is a problem that goes beyond ethics. If you feel “I’m not particularly in favor, but I’m not against it either”, it also means that there is a possibility of change. Will being a bystander become a mechanism for maintaining the system, or will it support the renewal of society? The boundary is a much smaller difference in interest than you might think. The debate over medical marijuana is no longer a “drug problem”. It is a question of “Whose suffering will society listen to?” Please do not turn a blind eye so that your quiet indifference does not prolong the suffering of someone tomorrow.