Attorney's statement of opinion
At the third trial held on September 7, 2020, the attorney asked the prosecutor questions in quick succession, which was an unprecedented development.
Tea has not been regulated as a drug
"This is the first case in Japan of ayahuasca and ayahuasca analog, which are beverages boiled from natural plants containing DMT."
Attorney Kikuyama listed cases that have not been regulated, even though the existence of plants and teas, including ayahuasca and DMT, has been known in the past. The following is a summary and supplement of Kikuyama's remarks by the author.
1. On June 16, 2006, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government entered Shibuya Ward to sell "illegal drugs" (so-called illegal drugs), that is, unapproved and unlicensed drugs under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. The inspection was carried out, and its destruction and discontinuation of sales were started. On July 28, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau Monitoring and Guidance and Drug Countermeasures Division called on-site inspections of "illegal drugs (so-called illicit drugs) that were imported and sold as plant specimens, incense, etc."The page has been uploaded. "Ayahuasca-related plants" are mentioned as plants that are the origin of illegal drugs (so-called illicit drugs).
"Illegal drug" was also called "illegal drug" or "legal drug", and the name was confused.[*1] According to the "Study Group on Countermeasures against Illegal Drugs"published on the ministry's website on November 25, 2005, illegal drugs (so-called illicit drugs) are "designated as narcotics or psychotropic drugs." It is defined as "a substance that is suspected to be harmful and similar to those, and is sold for the purpose of being abused by humans." In other words, the view is that "ayahuasca-related plants" are not regulated by the Narcotics or Psychotropics Control Law.
2. Before dawn on October 1, 2008, a fire broke out in downtown Osaka, and a man was arrested on suspicion of arson. The man was attending a Santo Daime service in Nara during the daytime on September 30th the day before. The Naniwa Police Station in Osaka Prefecture has detained his Imi tea from Santo Daime officials. It should have been tested for its ingredients, but it has not been investigated as a drug possessor since then. No fact-finding was found that the crime was affected by Daime Tea, and the arrested man was charged and tried, regardless of Santo Daime.
On October 27, 2008, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare published a page entitled "About So-called Daime Tea, etc." It says that Daime tea contains DMT, which is designated as a drug, but regarding the tea itself, "Daime tea is part of what is called ayahuasca. Other than Daime tea. Please note that some ayahuasca have the same effect. " In other words, the view is that DMT itself is regulated as a drug, but tea containing DMT is not regulated as a drug.
"Therefore, the MHLW had the view that ayahuasca and ayahuasca analogs were not narcotics. But why and when did the MHLW change the legal interpretation of the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act? It has not been made public. Even if the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has concluded that the ayahuasca analog is a drug at this time, the transition of its interpretation must be said to be extremely arbitrary and ad hoc. "
Ayahuasca religion from Brazil
At the time of the fire in 2008, a TV news program came to me for coverage. He was asked for his opinion as a researcher of Ayahuasca tea and Brazilian religious movements.
1. Santo Daime is a Catholic religious movement that started in Brazil in the 1930s, from which many groups such as UDV, Barquinha, and Umbandaimi were derived. The Brazilian government conducted a survey of these religious groups and was officially recognized as a religious corporation in the 1980s because of its high morale and no connection with antisocial organizations or anti-establishment movements. In particular, Santo Daime has spread among the intellectual classes in urban areas since the 1990s,[*2]、and has spread outside Brazil such as Europe and the United States, causing legal problems in each country. The actual situation of activities in Japan is not well known.
2. The "herbal tea" used by Santo Daime in worship is "Daimi" tea, which is a medicinal herb tea called Ayahuasca tea used by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon for religious ceremonies. Ayahuasca tea contains psycho-developing drugs such as DMT, which provokes a religious experience. Temporarily, the sense of daily space-time may be lost and normal judgment may be lost, but the effect ends in about 3 to 4 hours before the end of worship. Contrary to the violent aggression caused by alcohol, it creates a rather calm and peaceful sensation. Therefore, it is unlikely that the action of ayahuasca tea will cause a violent crime the day after taking ayahuasca tea.
3. Ayawasuka tea has been studied to improve psychiatric disorders in the neurotic area such as depression, but it may worsen psychiatric disorders in the psychiatric area such as schizophrenia. However, ayahuasca tea does not cause mental illness. If it was true that the suspect had arson in a state of dementia, it is likely that he had a mental illness before taking Ayahuasca tea.
I explained to the interview staff as above. The interview staff said the suspect is currently undergoing a psychological examination. After that, I heard that the suspect proceeded with the trial, saying that he was not in a state of dementia and had normal responsibility.
In Japan, it seems that Sebastian eclecticists and Umbandaimi derived from Santo Daime have been active since the 1990s.There is information that UDV is also active, [*3]but these groups do not disclose the information on the website etc., so it is not possible to know the exact actual situation. In Japan, Santo Daime and the religious groups derived from them do not have a unified organization and no unique church. No official comments have been announced regarding the fire incident in Osaka or the Aoi incident.
Conversely, the Herbal Society, which is based on nature worship and Buddhism, has nothing to do with the Christian religious movements of Brazilian origin. The types of herbs used are also different. Herbal Association tea is a combination of plants and medicines.
In Japan, Santo Daime is not a membership organization. "I'm a Daimista" is a matter of personal sentiment. For example, it is the same as saying "I am a Christian."
Individuals related to Brazil's Santo Daime are voluntarily worshiping in various parts of Japan, and it seems that these activities are repeatedly generated and extinguished and separated and gathered in a short period of time. This is a characteristic of Santo Daime, especially the Sebastian eclecticism, as well as Japan, and is also a characteristic of Brazilian religious movements.
There are several reasons why the whole picture of the Brazilian religious movement using Ayahuasca tea is not known in Japan.
First, conversely, it has not been cracked down by any incident. Its supporters are the middle class and are not associated with antisocial organizations or antisocial movements.
Secondly, the Ayahuasca religion does not engage in social activities such as building schools or conducting joint research with hospitals.
The third reason is that in Japan, unlike other Christian countries, the authority of the church is weak. Therefore, churches that use Ayahuasca tea have never been regarded as heretical and have not been a problem.
Abnormal prosecution and interrogation
Attorney Kikuyama's statement of opinion continued.
"In this case, a total of seven prosecutions have been filed. At least cases (5)-(7) do not appear to have any effect on sentencing. Repeating such prosecutions. It can be thought of as a strategy that causes the court to form a guilty plea of the accused and give him bad feelings, but since this is the first case of Ayawaska Analog, the prosecutor has no matter how factual it is. It should also be seen as an experimental prosecution to try which offense would be established.
In addition, the prosecutor was completely unaware of the International Narcotics Control Board's (INCB) view of the Convention on Psychotropic Drugs until his defense counsel pointed out after indicting the (1) case on April 6, this year.
Therefore, it can be seen that the prosecutor is gaining time to consider a re-argument against the defense counsel's allegations by continuing unjustified prosecution. Whether the prosecutor's intention to repeat prosecution is to form a guilty plea, experiment, or save time, the criminal procedure is a representative of the public interest because it severely restricts the human rights of the accused. Prosecution and proceedings that blame the prosecutor's duties should be strictly discouraged.
According to the accused, when he was being interrogated at the Kyoto District Public Prosecutor's Office on August 24, the prosecutor asked, "What kind of claim will you make at the next trial?" "What if you are acquitted?" It is said that the question was asked.
The accused has been asked the above question in isolation without the presence of a defense counsel, which may not only infringe the secret traffic right with the defense counsel, but also directly infringe the defendant's right of defense. It is an illegal and unjust act.
The prosecutor's unusual response, as described above, eloquently states that the case was not undertaken under sufficient investigation, and promptly acquitted the accused or abused his right to sue Therefore, the proceedings should be terminated immediately. "
The prosecutor, who represents the public interest, remains silent.
A lawyer asks a question and a prosecutor keeps silent. Is this a Copernican Revolution of the trial?
Defendant's counterargument to the prosecutor
Defendant Aoi argued that the prosecutor claimed that Ayahuasca analog tea was an extract of the drug DMT and was not part of the plant.
Tea is plants.
The prosecutor claimed that ayahuasca tea containing DMT is not plant, but trivially illegal substance in the light of common sense.
Are whales fishes!? Are bats birds!?
The strange questions of the defendant was out of place in the court.
The judge giggled.
The defendant did not stop making the statements. He was arrested on 3rd March. He could not stand because he had been waiting for half a year.
He was always shy and playful, but he threw up his right arm up with anger. I have never seen him such eloquent.
Is the ground a star!?
The lights that shine in the night sky are called stars. The ground at your feet is trivially not a star. The stars trivially move, but the ground does not move trivially. You (single) may thing this in the light of common sense.
Galileo, who said the earth moves, was charged.
The prosecutor, who charged Galileo, said that if it takes 24 hours for the earth to rotate once, the ground would be moving at 1600 kilometers per hour [*4].
The prosecutor said over and over again that it was trivial that the ground did not move in the light of common sense, therefore that it was trivial in the light of common sense. Finally, Galileo admitted what the prosecutor said.The prosecution sought life imprisonment to him.
It is said that the ruling was under house arrest for life, because three out of ten judges expressed minority opinions that confessions were not physical evidence.
It was three hundred years later that the Pope John Paul Ⅱ declared that Galileo was innocent in 1992.
The earth is a star. The ground is a star.
The telescope invented by Galileo made the science progressed.
If I admit now in the court that the tea is an illegal substance as the prosecutor has said, I will be guilty. But that would go against the 300 years of scientific progress.
The whole body of the defendant was full of dopamine and adrenaline.
I looked at my watch.
The judge with siver-gray hair looked confused, but no longer stopped him.
I heard from the prosecutor that a trial is performed based on scientific argument.
The problem here is the distinction between the subjective and cultural "Umwelt" and the scientific and objective "Umgebung", the environment[*5].
Usually, we live in the common sense world called Umweld in biology.
Both acacia trees and mushrooms containing psilocin and psilocybin are usually called plants. Taxonomically, mushrooms are classifyed as fungi, not plants. However, they are designated as plants under the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act.
According to convenience classification, moving creatures are animals and non-moving creatures are plants.
Usually, tea is not called a plant. Tea, milk and water are called drinks. This is because it is good to think (bon à penser).[*6]
Both you (single) and I look at the world through each colored glasses called common sense, Umwelt. Each person lives in each Umwelt, the world give rich meaning to each person.
But this is a trial. Trial is an intellectual sport of interpreting the law. Both you (single) and I need to take off the colored glasses during this game.
Chromatography is the result of progress in science. We have also developed a technique for isolating molecules.
Analyzing the acacia tree using chromatography reveals that it contains DMT, water, and many other substances. Analysis of the tea made from the acacia tree also reveals that it contains DMT, water, and the same substances. Since they contain the same substances, they can be identified as the same species.
Because tea is just boiling water and putting plants in it.
Analysis of human urine reveals that it contains DMT, water, and many other substances.
When analyzing pure water, only water molecules are detected. Analysis of purified DMT crystals reveals only DMT molecules.
Scientifically analyzed, both the acacia tree and the tea made from acacia are plants or parts of the plants. Acacia trees, tea made from acacia, human body, and human urine are living things or parts of living things. But water is water. A DMT molecule is a DMT molecule. H2O is not a living thing. DMT is not a living thing.
Hence, tea is plants.
The prosecutor said there was no need to answer.
The judge looked into the prosecutor's face. I supposed that the judge wanted to say to her if she keeps silence, she will lose this game.
She seems frustrated.
The judge declared the rising of the court.
The defendant and I left the court.
The typhoon had passed. The squall is gone. And the sun is back.
Even in September, Kyoto is still hot.
The defendant and I walked silently. The reflection light from the paved road was strong.
We went down to the river side from the stairs of bridge.
Glistening water flows and a cool breeze blows.
The defendant stopped.
"Look down at your feet" He said.
I also stopped and looked down at my feet.
There was the ground under our feet.
"And yet the ground moves[*7]." He smiled.
There was the earth under our feet.
Evaṃ mayā śrūtaṃ - Thus have I heard.
This essay is based on an an actual case. Original text is written in Japanese. English text is powered by Google translate.
*1:In July 2014, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare published a page entitled "We have selected a new name to replace" illegal drug "" and expressed the view that the name will be unified to "dangerous drug".
*2:Hirochika Nakamaki. (1992). "If you don't drink tea, you will not be able to have hallucinations-the epidemiology of hallucinations in Brazil-" Tsuneya Wakimoto, Keiichi Yanagawa ed. "Contemporary Religious Studies (1) Approach to Religious Experience" 31-59, University of Tokyo Press.
*3:Coe, M., McKnnna (2016). The Therapeutic Potential of Ayahuasca | SpringerLink
*4:The speed of rotation is twice the speed of an airplane. It takes 24 hours from Brasil to Japan - around the earth halfway - by an airplane which flies 800km per hour.
*5:Jakob von Uexküll & Georg Kriszat Streifzüge durch die Umwelten von Tieren und Menschen 1934
*6:L´evi‐Strauss, C. (1962). Le Totémisme aujourd'hui.
*7:""Eppur si muove" or E pur si muove" Baretti, Giuseppe (1757). The Italian Library. Containing An Account of the Lives and Works of the Most Valuable Authors of Italy. With a Preface, Exhibiting The Changes of the Tuscan Language, from the barbarous Ages to the present Time, 57.
