Random: Ace Attorney Says OBJECTION! To Drugs In Japanese Anti-Marijuana Campaign

Yikes, video game characters in anti-marijuana propaganda.

I'm not saying it's all sunshine and roses all the time, but to say "Marijuana steals your future" is dripping in propaganda. Anyone can abuse anything that has addictive tendencies, video games included.

I’ll bet you could make a pretty big blunt out of that poster.

@Airsqueeble you put that rather bluntly

@Astral-Grain A blazing campaign

Cannabis steals your future only because of laws that shouldn't exist in the first place

Hopefully one day marijuana use will be decriminalized and there won’t be such a big stigma against it, because seven years of imprisonment just for using it is crazy.

'Possession of cannabis can result in up to seven years imprisonment,'

Damn, now that is a deterrent!

I do admire Japans anti-drug stance (well, illegal drugs I should say) and I think this is pretty cool.

Remember kids, just say No!!

This isn't an objection (heh) to the article but I'd be happier not knowing this. I guess I can't be shocked a Japanese lawyer game would be involved with this.

I'd be more mad if I found out Shu Takumi actively disagreed with this tbh.

[laughs in Canadian]

Not sure if marijuana is the biggest danger out there, but it's a funny campaign.

Cannabis has helped me see a future. (Unnecessary Thwomp lore lol)

Meanwhile, Nintendo casts Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. I can't help but find that a bit ironic. 😆

Never forget Mario's famous quote!

Would it be more effective than Captain Lou Albano Mario telling you you're going to hell before you die if you do drugs?

@BeautyandtheBeer Are you familiar with prohibition of alcohol in the 1920s in the US?

Prohibition birthed the Speakeasy, which made the illegal substance way more appealing and cool. By banning recreational substances, we make them cool and more appealing.

I don’t even like weed, hate the feeling of smoking anything at all but this is just silly. It’s not as if it’s any worse than tobacco or alcohol. Japan’s anti-drug laws feel a bit overboard at times. I live in an area of Glasgow with quite a lot of methadone users coming off the hard stuff and sticking them in jail for 7 years will only serve to get them hooked on something like Spice.

@Astral-Grain - Sort of explains the crime waves in America now. Gotta get those likes and follows for that sweet vandalization edge!

Real talk though, I am on the fence about legalizing everything drugs. Weed was always a non-criminal thing in my eyes, but since my state legalized it in most territories I have noticed a small trend with people just not caring to do anything productive more often. We were always hurting for labor in my state, now we got 4 hour opening windows for some gast food joints because the compound of labor laws and people just not wanting to ever work.

Good on Capcom to take a stand for something needed.

Why demonize one of the most harmless drugs in existence with some actual medical benefits and instead shift focus on stuff that'll actually harm you like, cocaine, meth etc.
Heck alcohol is legal its taking so many lives, thousands more than majrijuana ever will. if it even has.

"The poster, which reads "Hold it! Marijuana steals your future!", lists the penalties received for possession and distribution of the drug"

If the only argument you have is the legal penalties, it seems like an unjust law. "Why shouldn't I do marijuana?" "Because you'll go to jail." "But why is marijuana illegal?"

If it was marketed on the health hazards or harm it causes (which is questionable considering both alcohol and tobacco are legal), I could get more behind it.

meanwhile, my country is about to legalize this

I know that cultures and laws are different around the world, but I cannot fathom having an anti-marijuana campaign in the year 2021 when there's plenty of data to show that legalization leads to economic boosts and decreases in crime.

Not a good look.

Smoking cigarettes is a much, much bigger issue in Japan. An issue that actually kills 16k each year. While weed only makes people hungry.

They gotta go after tobacco companies. Their priorities are borked.

I've been high while playing Ace Attorney. Just putting it out there.

It's legal here though.

It’s good to see humans still learn from the past. Because if there is one thing we know, if a law doesn’t deter people from something, a cartoon character definitely will. We all know since Smokey the Bear came around forest fires are a thing of the past.

@IceClimbers

Japanese Police lock you up for a decade for having Marijuana on you

"Why would Cannabis do this?"

Everyone, don't smoke weed, it's very dangerous!

But don't forget to drink a lot, it might kill you but it's the socially acceptable drug!

Very proactive makes me happy to see campaigns like these today

@Astral-Grain I am aware of prohibition yes, the cause for that was noble if not well thought ​through in any way.

I do agree that making something illegal can make it more tempting, especially if a large percentage think that thing to be harmless but that isn't strictly the case here since, as far as I know, it hasn't been in wide use and then banned outright.

@Paraka I think the labor problem has less to do with Marijuana and more to do with CEOs and executives treating workers like garbage.

@BeautyandtheBeer What is your stance on banning the use of video games in China? It doesn't have to be a substance to be addictive, anything can be addictive.

Marijuana is fine for medical purposes and such, but I believe this poster is talking about use of smoking for no reason except to get high. It's pains me to see how many people don't understand that this stuff is horrible for your health if you smoke just because you wanna

@Astral-Grain - I didn't know CEOs also decided to treat mom and pop shops like garbage too.

What Walmart does doesn't justify it on your local donut or tool shop.

@PBandSmelly But Japan does not agree with you, it's banned for recreational and medical, so says the article. Also, Snoop Dog (Lion?) begs to differ with the health issues.

@Paraka If you're saying people are getting so high on marijuana they're just not showing up for work, and that's a massive problem in your area, just wait until they run out of money.

They need money to buy weed. Also, any business owner can be a jerk to their employees, small businesses are not exempt from this.

@Paraka i promise that has nothing to do with smoking and everything to do with greedy bosses

@PBandSmelly Breaking news:obesity, alcohol and tobacco kill more people.

@CharlieGirl - Problem is the "decrease" in crime is often allocated in the definition of what is crime. It's common wordplay in politics.

If we legalized murder, for instance, crime would decline, or basically what we would consider as crime. But deaths doesn't necessarily go down, because murder is legal.

CA actually did something to this practice earlier this year by making it law to change what addiction is. Addiction went way down, but "substances involved persons" now stayed around that same number.

@Astral-Grain - So if people choose not to work, it's automatically an employer's fault?

And people don't have to get so high they fail, just consistent use of Marijuana leads to lack of motivation so people just opt to choose the path of least resistance and do bare minimum. Which, according to you, is also the employers' fault.

@sanguinekhajiit - People not having motivation to do beyond "just enough" is entirely okay because bosses are at fault for greed?

Sounds like two different problems, and you're using one to justify another. These two are compounding.

@Paraka

People DO want to work - for fair wages and reasonable hours.

If employers cannot provide this, they take the blame for being short-staffed. Businesses are not a victim in any fashion. Bad businesses need to die so better businesses can take their place.

@Astral-Grain those were some good blunt force traumas

@Paraka I would say this: If I were someone who enjoys weed, why would I work for a place that tells me what I can and can’t do when I’m not at work? As long as I don’t come to the job high there shouldn’t be an issue, but random drug tests make it an issue of privacy. The only reason why employers take an issue is because if I get hurt and fail a test, then they don’t have to pay for anything.

@Astral-Grain - Not necessarily, unless we are talking "fair" being entirely subjective. Mind you, every person can work elsewhere than Big Monster Walmart, you don't have to take what they offer you and go elsewhere.

If a donut shop cannot afford what Walmart is forced to pay, even if the environment is actually better, it's not their fault if someone demands a pay higher than Walmart's. On just the fact they're a startup alone.

But that's separate what I mentioned cause I said this waS being compounded on. Cause before this recent labor "shortage," I was already seeing people doing barely anything just to "pass" for the next check. Which is being amplified to the other problem we have now.

But from what you're saying, is it is the donut shop's fault if the hire refuses to more than the bare minimum. Only on belief they're not getting paid more than they believe is fair, in spite of agreeing to the contract of employment.

That's where I am seeing a pattern of within my own company too. Starting pay is above minimum wage, even raised to attract more labor. And I am still getting calls from clients of missing deadlines from new hires, many of which proclaim they're not getting paid enough "for this nonsense."

@Airsqueeble - Honestly, as long as people come to work clean and functional I honestly couldn't care less. But if they did come in high, for instance, and did a deal of damage on our end then is shouldn't be on us for hiring someone so careless. Simple.

My issue is, since the legalization, we have seen a lack of productivity out of many (not all) of the hires that I can at least confirm has some form of fondness to substances, most if the time weed. This has been a thing for about 8 years now, and certainly my company isn't the only one facing this with how often it happens.

Again, I see no problem with weed, but I have concerns around legalizing more because of what a drastic change has been seen for me. Hell, we don't let "functioning drunks" work for the same concerns.

@Paraka If a business cannot pay a fair wage and cannot provide reasonable working conditions, including a work/life balance, that business deserves to die.

There's a surge of "own your own business" culture, at least in the US, and those buying into it will soon learn they don't actually want to run a business, and why should workers suffer because they want to "follow their dreams" without knowing the first thing about it? I don't care if they are Walmart or a single family-owned coffee shop, all businesses need to appeal to workers if they want to have workers. Let competition do its thing.

Also, did you notice how you're not talking about weed anymore? Maybe that's because it was never a factor to begin with, just your weird assumptions about people in your area that don't want to work for bad businesses who perhaps smoke weed. No one wants to work for a bad company, marijuana users included.

@Astral-Grain Totally against banning games, or any forms of expression. There can be video game addiction yes but it isn't a high risk thing like an addiction to say gambling, drugs or alcohol.

Isn't that banning just games with online / social elements and for under 18s? Still wrong as limiting a childs playtime of a game(s) should be a parents responsibility not the states.

It is in line with a dictatorship such as China though.

@BeautyandtheBeer what constitutes a "high risk" addiction? Video games have been around for decades, and so to has video game addiction. None of this is life-threatening, and bad parenting or poor self-control can lead to unproductivity, but should the government be forcing people to be more productive?

I agree the government is overstepping, and deciding to use or not use a substance that has relaxing effects should be a personal choice. The parallels between legal alcohol and illegal marijuana cannot be ignored. One of them causes hundreds of thousands of documented deaths per year and the other one causes people to chill on their couch and watch TV.

So again, what constitutes "high risk" when the one that's legal causes way more deaths than the one that's illegal?

@Astral-Grain - We were, I mentioned it's compounding. You steered it to just labor. I attempted to shift and and now you're dismissing the entire argument as purely labor focused.

Example: If I offered you 5 bucks to tell people there is no Santa at every mall, you wouldn't do it. If I offered 50, still probably wouldn't. If I offered 500 per mall you probably would, right?

Now let's say the new legalization allowed you to have substances recreationally. Now I makes you feel good, and after a bit you start not liking your job cause you're not feeling as good anymore there as you used to, cause personal time simply feels better for your substance indulgement. That's understandable. Now you don't do it anywhere near as efficient because you're starting to view the agreement as lucrative as before, though it's been fine up to this point. You start not giving it your all.

Then you come to find out someone is out there getting paid 700 per mall telling kids they're adopted. Now you're upset with me, cause someone else has a better pay and you compare that to your agreement and it suddenly becomes unfair. So you just stop cause you believe if you're going to ruin a kids day, it should be for 1k per mall.

These two paragraphs are two different problems effecting the work force. These are being compounded on, as I said. But you're saying it's the No-Santa Co's fault for not paying better wages to begin with. Even though the agreement worked up to that point, and the person can go to work over at Adoptocorp. The former is the concern I was originally expressing.

Also, haven't seen much of this "own your own business," culture you speak of around here, taxes are curbstomping every new business of the last 3 years.

But maybe that's also the employers' fault for not being highly successful immediately.

Crazy. I love being stoned when I play games or watch anime.

@Astral-Grain To me high risk addiction is something which can lead to severe health problems, be they mental or physical or monetary pit such as increasing debt. Games, to this point, do not have anything like that in any real capacity.

I am not actually for alcohol either, to me it is something dangerous which should be looked at but I also know the real danger of alcohol is the lack of control with people who consume it which is what prohibition in the US was about IIRC (not big on NA history).

It would make sense for a country to ban both rather than one or the other but alcohol is too much of a money maker for it to ever seriously be considered outside Islamic countries.

@Paraka If that's true, every Marijuana user would be unemployed.

But they're not. They have the capacity to work hard just like everyone else. And at the end of a hard day, it's okay to have a beer but if you smoke some weed, suddenly you fall into a depression so great you can't hold down a job anymore? This is not reality.

I definitely promote getting high and not taking horrible jobs.

Capcom is proactively calling their fans criminals and less than. Booooooooooooo

@BeautyandtheBeer I agree alcohol is terrible. As you mentioned, the reason people make the alcohol and cigarettes comparison is that it's obviously a more logical candidate for banning or at least regulating because of the terrible health and mental impact, but because of the taxes they bring in, the government doesn't want to stop any of that.

So if we live in a reality where you're free to choose to smoke until you die or drink until you're unstable, then it's baffling we don't have the choice to smoke some grass that have significantly less risky effects in addition to health and mental benefits.

Being reliant on anything is always bad, because once it's absent, you lose control. If people develop self control with their substances, it should be because they know it's the right thing to do in the long run and not because the government banned it.

@BeautyandtheBeer What a terrible thing to say. You want people to be jailed over a plant? Yikes

In a time when companies are using propaganda to convince people to take drugs, it’s nice to see someone going back to the basics.

@BeautyandtheBeer
By that logic, sugar should be banned as well.

@Astral-Grain - That's some strawman and you're not hiding it. You're better than that. You and I both know there is levels of intelligence that some people are smart enough to know what they sign up for in life.

Otherwise I could say Walmart is paying enough because they're still open with employees as counter to your "just labor" argument. Doesn't work.

I am saying I have witnessed a noticeable decline in such productivity. And the common factor currently is most (again, not all) is an increased involvement with weed. Which is of no surprise when it's quite literally everywhere here. But you're making a claim it's entirely every companies' fault for being where they'd install pot shops next to. Because more money would make the people enjoy work more than personal life? Of course not. But the lack of the indulgence they have in their personal life makes you subconsciously view your job as even less enjoyable simply due to the access to more of what you enjoy at home.

And that's not speaking on an addictive level.

Next: Chris and Jill tell us about the importance of thanking the bus driver when they stop at your destination

@Astral-Grain I do understand your argument and you put it very well, it's just something you and won't be able to see eye to eye on which is fine. I think I'll leave it on the agree to disagree line.

I am okay with marijuana for medical use though.

@BeautyandtheBeer to me this isn't something to agree to disagree on, because that would imply that your not being "okay" with recreational use is relevant to anything other than whether or not you partake. Minding your business is agreeing to disagree, telling someone you would prefer if they were criminalized for doing something you don't approve of isn't agreeing to disagree, it's saying that if things were your way it would suck for a lot of people and you're fine with that because reasons.

When it comes to recreational marijuana use we're well past the point where we can pretend that all takes are valid. They're not, except to the extent in which you're speaking for yourself. Criminalizing ruins lives and doesn't decrease use.

@Paraka no - seeking part timers is a direct result of greedy bosses. not a lack of attention.

less hours - less pay - less (more likely no) benefits.

@NedBundy It’s similar to when people say they ‘just don’t agree with homosexuality’. It’s one thing to not partake of something, it’s another to spout off about what other people do with their bodies. All it really does is create more hate in the world.

@Paraka so using that line of thought…Cell phone addiction cuts down on productivity too, so we should make cell phones illegal across the board? My point is that you probably have policies in place for both cell phone and drug usage while at work. If you are in violation of those policies you will be reprimanded accordingly. People should be able to make their own decisions and then deal with the consequences. As a business that’s all you can do. If you choose to use your phone or drugs at work, you may lose your job. Going to jail for doing it on your free time doesn’t help anyone.

Couldn't be more the opposite here in Canada. Ever since the relatively recent legalization there is literally a weed dispensary on every block where I live, it's kind of ridiculous. They're more ubiquitous than Tim Hortons.

@OldManHermit Caffeine’s a drug so I guess Tim Hortons was already a drug dispensary!

@nessisonett Not to mention the highly addictive nature of doughnuts. I used to have a french cruller problem but I've been clean for ten years now.

I wonder what miss Gray had in mind when she posted this article haha

My issue with marijuana is that slippery slope is not a fallacy, even when the start of it is a good thing, it will lead to bad things.

Harder drugs like cocaine should stay illegal, marijuana can't kill, but you can still kill yourself with a cocaine overdose in weeks.

Also, it seems like the same people who defend marijuana being legal, want tobacco to become illegal, while tobacco can kill, it takes decades of smoking daily to do that, people who would die at 80 years, will die at 60 thanks to smoking, plus, tobacco in many places has a prohibition with extra steps thanks to high taxes that make people resort to illegal cigarettes that are more dangerous than the legal ones.

@Airsqueeble - blanket statement, you're drawing a connection to what I say to addiction. I wasn't saying anything about addiction.

And are you saying that lack of work ethic is the corporate fault if drug influence may be connected?

If someone claims the lack of pay is their excuse to poor work ethic, even if drugs are involved, why would they work more when the pay is granted? They have proven to already get away with it now. Honest question.

@sanguinekhajiit - Well, if the productivity they seek is equalled in hiring 2 part timers over 1 full timer, that's saying more on the lot of potential hires more than the company itself. Though the company isn't without scrutiny.

Thank you for curing me of my ridiculous obsession with japan

@Xiovanni I agree other addictions should be given the same amount of awareness, but what isn't addictive? Anything and everything can be addictive.

We can't say some substances are addictive and then ignore the other substances or activities that are just as addictive and just as life-impacting. Eating can be an addiction, but we have to eat to live right? Addiction is something we can never rid ourselves of, we have to accept it and promote self control of our addictions rather than demonizing them and driving people to want them even more.

@BeautyandtheBeer I appreciate your wisdom and I appreciate your views.

I'm pro-legalisation, but a lot of Westerners just don't understand how much East Asia is opposed to narcotics. It's not just Japan, but China, Korea, Singapore, Thailand etc all have the strictest drug laws in the world. It's a cultural thing that has existed ever since the Opium Wars and modern Western arguments for decriminalisation are completely irrelevant there, like it or not.

@Paraka It's not a strawman, it's simplifying what you're saying for the sake of brevity. It's not necessary to write an essay if you're just going to repeat the same things to me in different yet longer explanations.

Here are your points, as I understand them:
1. If you smoke Marijuana, you will become less motivated and not like your job any more, and because of this many businesses are suffering a shortage of workers.
2. Businesses should not be blamed because no one wants to work for them, this fault lies with the unemployed who are not motivated enough to work.
3. The people who work for big businesses like Walmart should be grateful to even have a job, and they get paid more than enough.
4. If a Marijuana Dispensary is opened, all the surrounding businesses will start to decline because the temptation to smoke weed will be too great, and that will reduce their motivation to work.

Since you asked, let me address these points
1. Not everyone that smokes marijuana gets unmotivated to work or becomes depressed. It effects people differently and there are thousands of strains that have equally different results. This is a blanket statement.
2. Businesses and Employees take blame for unemployment, but it's not equal blame. A business usually employees several employees, and thus the business must be more responsible because they have a wider impact. Also, businesses don't need to live forever, they're supposed to fail and be replaced by better businesses. If we bail out failing businesses that just blow the money anyway, how is this going to help employment?
3. People can still choose work for a company and be miserable and hate that company, this is because they need money to pay bills and support their family. They may have enough money to pay the bills but if their work environment is miserable, they have every right to complain and stay at that job if they need to. The alternative is homelessness. They owe their jobs nothing and each worker should do what is best for them, including leaving terrible jobs for ones that actually respect them.
4. This last one is just silly, that's like saying if a McDonalds opened in my area, then all the workers around would become morbidly obese. If people want it, they go to the dispensary, if they don't want it, they just avoid it. It existing doesn't mean everyone around will suddenly flock towards it.

That is all I will ever need to say to you regarding this topic. Have a great day.

@Astral-Grain Good conversation there.

Whatever, I don't really care, but as an outsider view, some of the points you listed (like point 3) was an exaggerated statement they made for getting to a point, not that they thought that for real.

Anyway, have a great day.

Poor Hideki Taniuchi.
10 years ago.
He's out by now, but it still was an absolute joke.
Aside from a hight suicide rate, the japanese law system is as rigid as their sentiments rooted in the past.
Disgusting.

It's Reefer Madness!!!

@Olmectron Even if you eliminated half of the points I listed, it's still pretty awful in my opinion, but perhaps I misinterpreted some what they meant. That's certainly possible.

Myself and this person already had a conversation and that just turned into repeating the same things over and over but with longer and longer replies. I suppose I'm also guilty for continuing to reply to them.

Based campaing

Well, technically it's repressive drug prohibition that steals your future not some hippy lettuce.

@Paraka I have a very successful career with a well paid job and one of the perks is spending my hard earned wages on some Marijuana which is legal in my state. Now if my staff came in baked I would obviously throw the book at them but some of my best performers enjoy some weed in their downtime.

@nessisonett I hear you. I'm so done with that way of thinking. Nobody cares if you approve of anything that doesn't require your approval to begin with. If you're against drugs don't do them. If you're against homosexuality then turn off Liberace, I don't know.

@YorkshireNed - I have said before, to others, that this isn't me being against weed in general, but I have noticed a downturn in productivity, and many who do have a common factor of enjoying it. I only question the success of legalizing other drugs if this is a result I see. Not saying all smokers are fired, but most of who I do fire had that in common. I don't think it's a sole issue, just a commonality of their decline.

I feel like this could also be like a light reflection of the "rat utopia experiments" where the more lavish the personal lifestyle, the likely they opt to not push forward effort when so much is so widely available.

Grant it, as you say, their personal time is their personal time, so no one can stop them. But we have seen people demanding firings over people on social media posts on their downtime as well, which is a concern to leverage work to be a bit more nosey. Which I also object to.

@Thexare - My industry, entry level is 18 dollars an hour, guaranteed 40 (plus flexible overtime if permitted), in a place where the min wage is 13. Probably the easiest job I have done (auditing), and we still have people claim it's not enough. From people who are still working at Walmart for 15.

Goes to show you, there is people who want the minimum effort, but maximum pay as well. It's not entirely one directional.

Capcom shooting themselves in the foot as you’d have to be blazed y to enjoy the new Ace attorney games

@Medic_Alert Drug use isn't common in Japan, though. So it's not even really a war. It is honestly, kinda nice, even though there are upsides to some drugs that are illegal in Japan.

The drug war was never really about stopping drug use anyway. It was about voter suppresion, military endeavors including war in Central and South America, among other things. It was just the precursor to the "War on Terror"

The number of people in this thread who think that locking people up for recreational marijuana use and justifying it with personal anecdotes and observations is blowing my mind. I’m halfway thinking you guys are part of a gorilla advertising campaign for Half-Life 3.

"Prohibition birthed the Speakeasy, which made the illegal substance way more appealing and cool. By banning recreational substances, we make them cool and more appealing."

…appealing yes, to fools.

@PosterBoy ...are you saying anybody who drinks alcohol is a fool?

@KirbysAdventure No, but it's an interesting topic… Anybody? Hmm, depends on the amount