The Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act was partially amended and enforced in August 1972 so as to criminalize the act of abusing thinners, etc. Since then, most juvenile drug offenses have come under Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Act violations. However, the number of juveniles referred by police for violations of this Act decreased sharply around 1993 after hitting a peak (29,254 juveniles) in 1982, and has also been on a downward trend. Its rate among overall drug offenses has also been decreasing (see Fig. 4-1-2-1).
  The number of juveniles cleared for Stimulants Control Act violations increased significantly in late 1970s and early 1980s, and reaching a record high at 2,769 juveniles in 1982. Recently, the number has generally been on a downward trend, and the number of juveniles cleared in 2006 was 296, and the juvenile rate accounted for 2.5% of the total number of persons cleared for Stimulants Control Act violations (Source: The Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, The Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Agency, and The Guard and Rescue Department, Japan Coast Guard).
  The number of juveniles cleared for Cannabis Control Act violations has recently been around 200, and in 2006, it was 197 juveniles (up by 8.2% from the previous year) (Source: The Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, The Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Agency, and The Guard and Rescue Department, Japan Coast Guard).
  The number of juveniles cleared for Narcotics and Psychotropics Act violations peaked in 2004 with 80 juveniles, and then decreased. It was 40 juveniles in 2006 (down by 42.0% (id.)). Most Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Act violations were for synthetic narcotic drugs like MDMA (Source: The Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, The Criminal Investigation Bureau, National Police Agency, and The Guard and Rescue Department, Japan Coast Guard).