7 English Teachers Busted for Drugs…
Imagine my complete suprise when I read today on the Mainichi Daily News that seven foreign teachers working at the NOVA English language Conversation School were busted on a suspicion of having pot and thus violating the Cannabis Control Law. Interestingly the article says ‘Suspicion’ not ‘possession’. Hmm…
Anyways the police are accusing the seven gaijin of also possessing five bags containing a total of about 1.5 grams of powdered cocaine, and 15 bags containing a total of about 8.2 grams of weed. So if they are charging them, then it’s not suspicion, it’s possession right? I’m starting to think the only reason this is news is because the men in question are gaijin… Hell that pisses me off!
I’m not into marijuanas at all and I never saw this as a really big deal even here in Japan. But cocaine is horribly horribly evil! I only hope that this doesn’t get spun in the media and begin a gaijin witch hunt. That would really suck as it is rather easy for some to paint all foreigners with the same brush. Here is another tidbit from the article:
Investigators said a 32-year-old American teacher who was arrested on the spot on the same day told police another NOVA teacher had made a request for the drugs. The 32-year-old said the drugs were purchased from a street dealer.
Six other suspects later surfaced, including a 35-year-old teacher from Canada who was working at the same classroom in Saitama Prefecture, police said.
Why is marijuaa no big deal, but cocaine terribly evil? Seems inconsistent to me. Where is alcohol on that scale?
Sounds like the local cops have a hard-on for gaijin.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:06 pmThere’s nothing inconsistent to me about this at all. One is a natural no chemical drug that gets you stoned and the other is a refined drug that will hook you like a fish and completely destroy you.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:04 pm[...] Pot-smoking foreign English teachers—it ain’t just a Korean thing. Related Posts (Maybe)Expel the barbarians (or at least the depraved, under-qualified ones) [...]
February 1st, 2007 at 11:29 pmwell, before the trial starts, the charges are always ON SUSPICION OF DOING X, and then the trial starts, and these guys will be doing time at the FUCHU JAIL, three years hard labor most likely, and the verdict has already been decided by the prosecutors and when the judge pronounced his judgment, er, scripted scenario, he will use the word POSSESSION. But for now, for news reports, the papers must say ON SUSPICION OF. It’s news jargon for THEY DID IT but we can’t SAY THAT in print….yet!
February 1st, 2007 at 11:30 pmYeah, the ’suspicion’ thing does seem inappropriate but it’s always there. I recall reading about the idiot who ploughed into the crowd of kids and killed 4 of them. Was arrested ‘on suspicion of violating the Road Traffic Law’ or some such thing.
February 1st, 2007 at 11:42 pmSeemed odd that four dead bodies under a bloke’s car would only ‘lead one to suspect’ that the RTL had been violated, but there you have it.
What the hell were they doing with 15 half gram bags of time anyway?
Consolidate your bags, idiots, otherwise it looks like you’re selling it, which means more charges.
I agree with alexpappas anyway, how the hell is a little over a quarter ounce newsworthy?
It probably because it fits the line of criminal gaijin the government has been spouting, however, it still seems a little low-ball for the news. Maybe the propaganda concerning weed in Japan is worse, and they, like the Australians think its worse than heroin. You’d think they could drum up something more serious for the cameras.
To answer ghoti’s question, marijuana never caused a heart attack, stroke, or brain aneurysm. Alcohol, on the other hand causes cirrhosis of the liver, kills brain cells, and is involved in the deaths of tens of thousands every year. The only argument against marijuana is that 70 years ago some douche bag bureaucrat decided that he just couldn’t stand the fact that someone was getting intoxicated on something other than the type of liquor he drank and decided to ban it. It has never been proven to have caused any death.
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:38 amI was always under the impression that the media is self-compelled to make sure that suspects are described as having “allegedly” committed an offense out of a desire to keep the potential jury pool reasonably untainted. Given that criminal trials by jury are not conducted in Japan, there must be some other rationale at play here. Any ideas?
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:40 amHaving NOVA, I have to say that these poor teachers were probably completely justified in needing these drugs just to get through the day.
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 am8.2 grams of weed between seven people is practically nothing. Thats about 1 joint per person. I’m not saying they didn’t break the law, I just want to know how this was news worthy?
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:32 am“a refined drug that will hook you like a fish and completely destroy you. ”
You mean alcohol? We should ban that, too, I guess.
Sorry, the devil’s advocate. One drug is as good as another. Marijuana, in excess, is not a good habit. Cocaine, meanwhile, is not the Dr. Evil of drugs either. My experience is that addicts will find something to ruin their lives, even if it’s paint thinner.
Odd, though. Why would people risk so much simply to have a minute quantity of marijuana? They know it’s illegal here. Whether it should be legal is another question entirely. It isn’t, but they felt the need for it anyway. No sympathy here.
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:28 amPot shouldn’t be illegal, but when you’re a guest in another country, that doesn’t matter. If you can’t respect the institutions of another country, you shouldn’t be there. And it is a tragedy that it is going to just fuel gaijin-paranoia. A few fuckheads ruin it for everyone.
Coke is for the retarded, though. I used to work for a homeless shelter, and this is my personal observation: You do coke enough times, you’re inevitably going to switch to crack, and once you’re on crack, your life is fucking over. There are a few heroin addicts who can manage to return to a normal life, but a crack-head never does.
I knew one guy in particular. University educated. Got hooked on coke for a couple years before he switched to crack. Then he landed in the shelter, where they gave him rehab. He quit, got back on his feet, got a good job and an apartment again.
Within six months he was back in the shelter. You only get free rehab once here, so he used up all his chances. That was about four years ago now, and I still see him downtown sometimes, begging for change.
Smoke pot all you want, eat mush, whatever: All they take is a little basic self-control, like booze. But if you do coke, you’re so fucking stupid you deserve what you get.
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:39 amRYO: people arrested in Japan are “innocent until proven guilty,” just like in the US and many other countries. A judge or panel of 2 or 3 judges hear their case, not a jury, but that doesn’t matter.
The difference — BIG difference — in the Japanese legal system is that the accused must prove in court that he or she is not guilty, the prosecution does not have to prove that he or she is guilty — just provide the evidence and “let it speak for itself.”
Talk about the deck stacked in the prosecutor’s favor:shock:
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 amAnother piece of news for you all, this just in Boston, Massachusetts the stupidest city in the world.
http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2007/02/01/mooninite-attack-on-boston-fails/
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249378,00.html
Apparently to the mental midgets that make up the Boston police department think this is what a bomb looks like
http://cgi.ebay.com/Aqua-Teen-Hunger-Force-Mooninite-LED-Sign-not-bomb_W0QQitemZ160081117584QQihZ006QQcategoryZ363QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting
Buy your sign on ebay now to commemorate the day when you realized just how schizophrenicly paranoid and stupid America had become before the “terror warriors” hit a new low
http://cgi.ebay.com/Mooninite-Aqua-Teen-Hunger-Force-L-T-Shirt-ATHF-LED-Ad_W0QQitemZ160081000429QQihZ006QQcategoryZ15687QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
Say what you will about the Tokyo police and news, they’re the best compared to the shithole Boston has become.
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:57 amActually, they’re lucky. If they were Japanese, it would be jail for them (all drugs are felonies in Japan, no misdemeanor for pot like in the US). They’ll get deported back to the US and told not to come back to Japan.
I assume “suspicion” is translated and modified from 容疑者 or “suspect” which is the generic term for anyone accused or suspected of a crime, but not yet convicted.
Kudan, Japan is currently (or will soon be) introducing trial by jury, although the setup is different from in the US.
February 2nd, 2007 at 9:40 amHey tlxftrf, I don’t think your comments about the the Boston police is fair. I’m a Bostonian, but when I went to school in London in July 2005, I was almost killed during the London train bombings. I am happy that the Boston police reacted the way they did. If they had been bombs then many would’ve been dead. Some things, no matter what, have to be dealt with seriously.
Sorry I was off topic. For those who were arrested, all I have to say is that they knew they were breaking the law. And now that they’re caught, they shouldn’t expect sympathy from the strict Japanese legal system.
February 2nd, 2007 at 11:38 amRTN, i don’t they’ll get off so easy as mere deportation. they are likely in Tokyo Detention Center now, since their arrest, and after their court trial, they will likely get FUCHU jail sentence for drugs, and then deported after 3 years in Fuchu. But then again, if they were Paul McCartney in 1969, and they had Sen. Ted Kennedy make a call for them to the MOJ, then they’d go scot free and even be allowed to come back to Japan for a major concert. Pays to be VIP in Japan. And anywhere.
February 2nd, 2007 at 1:14 pmI know a couple different foreigners who were caught at airports here. One spent a couple months in jail before being deported, another spent less than a week before getting released with a warning to be more careful. No deportation. Depends on luck, attitude, and how much you are contributing to Japanese society - or so I have been told.
February 2nd, 2007 at 3:48 pmThis goes well with the story from fucked gaijin about the magazine at Family Mart that portrays all foreigners as criminals.
February 2nd, 2007 at 7:56 pmNo way! I used to WORK at Kawagoe NOVA, same school as the busted teachers… DAMN! looks like I was there at the wrong time… don’t recognise any of the published names but. A reflection of Nova’s high turnover rates i suppose.
another thing. someone said that Australians think dope is worse than heroin.. not true. in three states and territories, posession of a limited amount (two plants to classify as personal use) is sompletely decriminalised.
February 6th, 2007 at 12:31 pm