Ariticle33Protection from harmful drugs

Article 33 of the Convention requires that measures be taken to prevent children's illicit use of narcotics. The main international treaty related to this issue is the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, adopted in 1988, to which currently 186 countries are parties. In contrast, Japan established the "Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act" in 1990 as an improvement of the former "Narcotics Control Act". Currently, the lifetime drug experience rate in Japan is 1.4% for marijuana and 0.5% for stimulant drugs, compared to 20-40% for marijuana and 2-10% for stimulant drugs in Western countries, showing that Japan has very low rates compared to the typical Western countries.

A frequently mentioned case is that of a Japanese citizen who travels to a country where narcotics are legal and uses drugs. Article 2 of the Penal Code states, “This Code applies to anyone who commits one of the following crimes outside the territory of Japan:” This includes the law on narcotics, which makes it a crime for a Japanese citizen to use drugs abroad.