4 ms·

In my experience more people than you might expect have experience with cannabis in Japan. I was at a small party and the topic of cannabis came up. I asked t

In my experience more people than you might expect have experience with cannabis in Japan. I was at a small party and the topic of cannabis came up. I asked the group if anyone had smoked it before. Everyone gave a resounding "No, of course not". When the party was winding down, two separate people said "Actually, I've tried it. I just didn't want to say anything in front of other people." I find it strange how in the next few weeks up and down the country Japanese people will go out and many will get very drunk from morning to night while sitting under the blooming sakura trees but any other drug is so taboo you can barely mention it in polite company.

intertextuality 8y ago
Yeah, I totally forgot about the polite company thing. It’s exactly the same with Koreans. The ones who were forward about it were people who had lived in America or abroad for some period of time, typically. In the same way you shouldn’t ask a group of Koreans “do you understand?” when teaching, because they might answer “yes” to save face. It’s definitely an interesting culture, compared to mine (American).
mises 8y ago
Not sure what exactly you're referring to; most people don't refer to illegal drug abuse openly in polite company here in America either. Of course, it's also impolite to ask.
- Frondo 8y ago
  Maybe it's a generational thing, but in my circles (40 and under), no one conflates cannabis use with illegal drug abuse -- the latter implies something like heroin addiction. Maybe it's also a generational thing, but at parties I attend, it's not uncommon for someone to mention having spent their last birthday having used blow, or mention back to some time they dropped acid, or whatever. Drug talk seems much less taboo than sex talk; the people who talk openly about sex are either sex workers or poly (and those people proselytize more than vegans ;-) ). Maybe a generational thing, though.
  - mises 8y ago
    I think it may be more regional. I'm definitely under 40, but have never heard a prostitute mention her job, let alone proselytize. Same with drugs, though you're right that marijuana is not taken as seriously.
    - Frondo 8y ago
      Oh, I meant the poly folks proselytize :-) Just that the sex workers I know don't avoid talking about their work; they just treat it as work, as any of us do. What region are you in? I'm talking about my experiences in both the Pacific NW, the Midwest (college towns), and a few of the larger cities on the east coast.

intertextuality 8y ago

Yeah, I totally forgot about the polite company thing. It’s exactly the same with Koreans. The ones who were forward about it were people who had lived in America or abroad for some period of time, typically. In the same way you shouldn’t ask a group of Koreans “do you understand?” when teaching, because they might answer “yes” to save face. It’s definitely an interesting culture, compared to mine (American).

mises 8y ago

Not sure what exactly you're referring to; most people don't refer to illegal drug abuse openly in polite company here in America either. Of course, it's also impolite to ask.

Frondo 8y ago
Maybe it's a generational thing, but in my circles (40 and under), no one conflates cannabis use with illegal drug abuse -- the latter implies something like heroin addiction. Maybe it's also a generational thing, but at parties I attend, it's not uncommon for someone to mention having spent their last birthday having used blow, or mention back to some time they dropped acid, or whatever. Drug talk seems much less taboo than sex talk; the people who talk openly about sex are either sex workers or poly (and those people proselytize more than vegans ;-) ). Maybe a generational thing, though.
- mises 8y ago
  I think it may be more regional. I'm definitely under 40, but have never heard a prostitute mention her job, let alone proselytize. Same with drugs, though you're right that marijuana is not taken as seriously.
  - Frondo 8y ago
    Oh, I meant the poly folks proselytize :-) Just that the sex workers I know don't avoid talking about their work; they just treat it as work, as any of us do. What region are you in? I'm talking about my experiences in both the Pacific NW, the Midwest (college towns), and a few of the larger cities on the east coast.