According to a survey by Fukuoka Prefecture, 51 people were taken to the hospital by ambulance in 2012 for drug-induced poisoning after smoking quasi-legal herbs. Of these, 40 were from Kitakyushu. In similar surveys, only six people were taken to the hospital in Kumamoto, while Saga, Nagasaki, Oita and Kumamoto reported zero cases. The surveys were conducted after request issued by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare last March. This year as well, Kitakyushu has seen several persons taken to the hospital, so, in a rare move, the city government has decided to begin buy quasi-legal herbs from head shops in order to conduct its own investigation into the legality of their contents. These surveys are typically conducted by the department in the Prefectural Office in charge of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, but Kitakyushu hopes to gain more detailed information by conducting its own secondary investigation. A survey conducted in March of this year revealed that Fukuoka Prefecture has 12 head shops selling quasi-legal herbs, the most in Kyushu, and half are located in Kitakyushu. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun, May 22
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