Int'l school principal, husband nabbed for marijuana smuggling

Saturday 03rd October, 08:26 AM JST

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MeanRingo at 12:24 PM JST - 5th October

5.9 grams. What an odd amount. I've only known it to be sold by the gram or 1/8s or 1/4s. %.9 grams just seems like an odd amount. He must have taken a few toots before sending it off. What a pair of idiots though. I am totally for the weed. But it is just ridiculous to think you can get away with mailing something like that. Acid? Sure. It's paper. But weed? First of all they check the mail. I've always noticed my packages have been opened. Second weed stinks. I don't really think you can effectively hide that smell, unless you hoop it while entering the country. But that is even more stupid... and probably uncomfortable to boot. Good luck folks. I feel for you Mr and Mrs Lane, but wow. You two are stupid. Still, not so ridiculous as many of the posters on this site.
zhazam05 at 01:33 PM JST - 5th October

Two Losers!!After the deportation they can open up a Charter School in an American city,say Chicago!!!
tuftedpuffin at 10:05 PM JST - 5th October

I don't think the issue here is about whether marijuana should or should not be legalized, or whether the Lane's shipped marijuana for medical use. The Japanese Law is extremely clear on the control of this substance, and the couple do not have grounds to fight it. Shirley and Thomas Lane committed a crime, period.

What really concerns me is how some moron's blatant disregard for the law jeopardizes a whole body of students/graduates/faculty members out there, who are vulnerable to ruined reputations, loss of credibility, shame, and accusations for which they are not personally responsible. International schools already have tough time within the Japanese educational community, not to mention a school full of "gaijin" in Japan is often subject to prejudices. In the least, Shirley Lane should have given thought to her position within the school and community when she asked her husband to send a supply of marijuana (OT, but 6g sounds like it was for recreational use).

I hope that Shirley Lane is deported, and never allowed back in the country. She has done so much more damage to her surroundings than she is probably capable of imagining. I also hope she gets help - no adult at 59 with a respectable career should be caught smuggling pot.
butterfly1 at 11:50 PM JST - 5th October

isthistheend - Wait a minute, Marijuana is a depressant not a stimulant...
papaclanc at 07:56 AM JST - 6th October

This makes me think, What if some well intentioned but complete idiot of a pal of mine (or yours) in my home country decided to send me some weed and customs caught it coming to my address? Would I stand a chance AT ALL of convincing them I had no knowledge of that persons plans? Seems to me that you could REALLY screw someone in this manner if you were so inclined.
tokyotom at 08:32 AM JST - 6th October

friend of mine, nova, spent two months in the clink for this back in 94 he was ready to leave japan, no want to come back
kirakira25 at 12:32 PM JST - 6th October

It doesn`t matter how addictive marujuana is, whether it should be legalised, it is OK for medical use, or any other weed debate.

In Japan, possession or trafficking of this drug is illegal, period. Regardless of the reasons.

These two people knowingly broke the law. They got caught. They should face the consequences. It is that simple.
BurakuminDes at 10:24 PM JST - 6th October

Japan must put a stop to this "Reefer Madness" before all the universities here are shrouded in a haze of smoke. Obviously, this couple was trying to get these kiddies onto the gear at young age - get 'em hooked early and you've got regular customers.
Damien15 at 10:29 AM JST - 7th October

Obviously, this couple was trying to get these kiddies onto the gear at young age - get 'em hooked early and you've got regular customers.

Obviously, there's no truth in this sentence.
Makkun70 at 11:54 AM JST - 7th October

If they were Japanese and smuggling children then Japan would have welcomed them with open arms. Funny you can smuggle forna yet not flora. To be honest I'd let these guys teach my kids any day of the week :)
Klein2 at 03:46 PM JST - 7th October

Papaclanc. Thank you very much. I used to have all of my packages from "home" opened and politely sealed again by the powers that be. I never figured out why, but they cut it out after awhile. I was never afraid of what they might take out or see. I was constantly afraid OF WHAT THEY MIGHT PUT IN!!!

With legal representation in this country being what it is. And with local lynching being pretty commonplace, any one of us is a felt tip marker away from years in the slammer.

Just because I am paranoid does not mean that they are not out to get me. Maybe the fact that I am walking around free is proof though, seeing as how it is so easy to frame someone up when the police are already convinced that "the foreigner did it."
Klein2 at 03:52 PM JST - 7th October

Kirakira. I wonder if that is true. Drugs that are outlawed for use in Japan are still admissible in small quantities for personal use. That is an international convention of some kind or other.

Imagining that this person were stopped at Narita and produced a valid prescription and proper packaging, I wonder if this would even have made the papers. A drug with a valid prescription intended for personal use? If we start making that illegal, oh boy, what a mess.

For that matter... if the woman had THC tablets in a little plastic bottle, she could probably have brought in 100 times the dosage and nobody would have batted an eye. She was arrested because SMOKING MJ is illegal in Japan, not consuming THC. Therefore, this really makes this an economic issue. Rich people can affort THC tabs. Poor people can't.
Klein2 at 04:09 PM JST - 7th October

"hephatsheput: Just for your information, marijuana can be psychologically addictive but the only evidence of physical addictiveness is misleading. "

Damien and Dolphingirl, I think HEPHATSHEPUT hooked you and reeled you in. He was quoting something from Reefer Madness, I think.

Well, if no one else is going to say it, I might as well. PRINCI meaning number one and PAL meaning friend... This woman is someone's number one pal, that is for sure.

And Alan, I might not agree with you 100%, but thank you for that Paul McCartney flashback (!!). I remember when Arnold S. was allowed to enter the country without so much as a passport, while lowly I am forced to have a reentry permit, visas, shomeisho, etc. You learn early in this country that there are two justice systems. One works with prisons. The other works with pats on the back. If Nori-P had married a 60 year old senator instead of a surfer, you can bet she would have skated on her charges. Too bad this woman was only a lowly principal with decades of service to Japan. That does not count for carp in Japan these days, even if you do have cancer or glaucoma or whatever.
NagoyaGaijin at 10:49 AM JST - 8th October

Klein--just to point one thing...This woman didnt have "decades of service" to Japan...

> The international school in the Sacred Heart school group said Shirley Lane arrived in Japan to take the post last August. <

Plain and simple--pot is illegal in Japan. If you wanna smoke up, take a vacation to Amsterdam!
shameshameshame at 09:29 PM JST - 20th October

My heart goes out to the students, parents, and staff of ISSH who had to endure so much humiliation. I hope this incident serves as a reminder to us all that with great power comes great responsibility. Sending prayers to all people in a position of leadership around the world that they make sound decisions and judgement. Lord have mercy.