The "Good and Evil" of Herb Policy in Taiwan

Conclusion: In April 2021, the Hsinchu City police cracked down on the largest indoor growing operation in the history of Taiwan, seizing 1,540 live plants, 7 kilograms of dried herb and 880 hand-rolled cigarettes, with a market value of nearly 17 million USD. For advocacy groups and individuals who hope to promote legalization at home, Minister of Law Cai Qingxiang said, "This is not in line with our national conditions." In the first part of "Herb Insight", we will analyze the "good and evil" of the plant, also regarded as the source of restorative materials and drugs. At the same time, we will also talk about how the plant, recorded as a medicine in the scripture "Compendium of Materia Medica", became a drug that most Taiwanese would not bring up.

"Former LOL world champion Toyz Liu Weijian was detained for drug trafficking involving the sale of the herb".

"Xie Hexian was arrested for drug abuse and sentenced to another four months."

"Ke Zhendong, the famous Taiwanese actor, sentenced for two years of drug abuse."

"Jaycee Chan, Jacky Chan's son, recruited drugs for eight years."

The herb is a secondary drug in Taiwan. When celebrities appear in the media over its use, they often cause an uproar.

In the first half of 2021, the Ministry of Justice seized more than 9,000 plants, the largest number ever recorded. The Ministry of Justice declared war on the plant, listing it as one of the primary goals of its anti-drug work and asking people not to use it by any chance.

Minister of Justice Cai Qingxiang said: "It is currently impossible to legalize the herb. So far, Taiwan does not allow its legalization."

Wu Yiming, deputy director of the Department of Protection, said that the plant does not grow naturally in Taiwan. It is illegal, and penalties apply whether it is planted, manufactured, transported, sold or used in Taiwan. The maximum penalty is life imprisonment.

Although the Ministry of Justice has strongly expressed its stance on eliminating the plant, as some countries have opened up legalization, there has been more and more discussion about it in Taiwan. Among them, lawyers, physicians and university professors have advocated opening up its use, decriminalizing personal use, or legalizing medical access.

Xie Hexian, a singer who promotes legalization, criticizes the conservative government on Facebook from time to time. Xie Hexian even said that his songs were written after using the herb. However, there are still many people in society who question and even oppose legalization. Professor Yang Shilong of the National Chung Cheng University emphasized that very few countries legalize the plant. He believes that "once recreational use is legalized, it may open up the motivation of youth drug use and accelerate the use of drugs to cause health hazards."

What Is Inside the Plant?

Some people think that the herb is a panacea that relaxes people and relieves pain. Others believe it is a heinous drug. The reason it is regarded as "good and evil" comes down to the role of two active compounds in this type of plant: one that produces its characteristic effect, and one that does not.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the plant is an annual herb containing more than 400 chemical substances, including a range of active compounds. The best known of them is the one behind the plant's euphoric effect. Because of that compound, many countries list the plant as a controlled drug. At the same time, it has a long record of medical use, including relief of chronic pain and of nausea after cancer chemotherapy.

The other well-studied compound does not produce the euphoric effect, so it does not alter perception. Some studies have explored whether it can support the nervous system and ease muscle pain, anxiety, arthritis and epilepsy. Since 2016, Kickback, a prominent American beverage manufacturer, has combined botanical ingredients with coffee and tea and launched a low-sugar and low-calorie lemon-flavoured soda, labelling its ingredients to help boost energy and relieve stress.

How Does the Plant Produce Its Effect?

How does a small plant produce that effect? The story starts inside the human body.

Everyone's body contains receptors that respond to these compounds. Scientists have discovered that the two primary receptors that bind them in the human body are the type I receptor (CB1) and the type II receptor (CB2). CB1 is widely distributed in the central and peripheral nervous system, while CB2 is mainly manifested in the immune system. Once these compounds activate the two receptors, they affect people's psychological and physical functions.

Physician Lai Yanhe described the main compound as a "partial agonist". After a person uses the herb, the compound binds to the type I receptor (CB1) and the type II receptor (CB2) in the body. When it activates CB1 and CB2, a chain of molecular signalling begins, releasing dopamine, which makes us feel excited and happy — the key to the effect.

However, Lai Yanhe also emphasized that the current medical community does not attribute the effect to a single mechanism. We can only say that the main compound is the beginning of this series of peak experiences after use.

Compounds from plants are called phytochemicals, but in fact we also have similar compounds in our body, naturally produced by our cells. In addition to taking the herb, under certain circumstances the body also releases these compounds, which gives us a similar lift.

In 2015, German scholar Johannes Fuss and others published a paper, a study on the runner's euphoria in mice. They found that many long-distance runners or amateur runners have experienced a runner's euphoria — that is, in the process of running, they feel happy, fatigue and pain reduced. Scholars point out that this is related to the production of the body's own compounds during exercise, and to CB1 activity.

The History of the Plant

According to historical records, as early as 2737 BC, the medicinal value of the plant was discovered by the medicine god Shennong, and it was recorded in the "Shen Nong's Materia Medica".

Li Shizhen, the doctor in the Ming Dynasty, recorded the plant in "Compendium of Materia Medica": it was also known by its Chinese name, ma, and it was planted everywhere. It is peeled and harvested, and there are males and females. It has narrow and long leaves, shaped like motherwort leaves, seven-leaf or nine-leaf on the branches, delicate yellow blossoms and ears in May and June, then fruit. It is as big as coriander seeds. It can be peeled to make oil, and its stalks are white and ridged. Its fibre can serve as the wick of a candle.

Chinese medicine believes that the plant's seeds moisturize the intestines and act as a laxative, nourishing and tonic. In herbal tea shops on the streets of Hong Kong, a tea made from the plant is sold as a beverage, and it is legal.

The Indian "Vedas" also praised a drink made from the plant as the holiest liquid, bestowing human well-being. Ancient Indians believed that the plant had the functions of making people feel energetic, prolonging life, and assisting in falling asleep.

Plant History in the Americas

The plant has a long history of medicinal use, but 100 years ago, the government took many actions. It came to be seen as a drug that no one should use, and within a few decades every state had banned it. Because of discrimination, the plant became nationally prohibited in the U.S.

The revolution broke out in Mexico at the beginning of the 20th century, and a large number of Mexican immigrants poured into the United States, and at the same time introduced knowledge of the plant to the states. The behaviour of some new immigrants caused fear among residents, who believed that after taking the herb, people might commit crimes.

In Texas, local police often label the herb as "demon" and "immoral." Local newspaper reports in the Louisiana city of New Orleans emphasized that drug criminals would use the herb to seduce school children and turn teenagers into "addicts."

Since then, the fear of the plant has increased throughout the United States. In October 1915, the Utah State Assembly passed the first law of its kind in American history, becoming the first state to ban the plant. This wave swept across the United States in just over a decade. In 1931, 29 states had legislated to ban it.

At the same time, the Great Depression plunged the U.S. into crisis in 1929. Rising unemployment sharpened white residents' resentment and discrimination against Mexican immigrants. Even film and other cultural voices joined the anti-plant campaign.

In 1936, a notorious anti-drug film was released. This classic stigmatizing movie described several white teenagers who became perverted murderers after using the herb and committing rape crimes. Domestic researchers of the plant believe that this wave of stigmatizing the plant has dramatically impacted the United States.

The man who turned the ban into national law was Harry Anslinger. He served as the U.S. Federal Narcotics Control Agency director for 32 years, from 1930 to 1962.

In its early days, the U.S. Federal Narcotics Control Agency ran into the Great Depression, and with poor results its funding declined year by year. To save his career, Anslinger focused on the plant. He asked 30 scientists for their opinions on it. Twenty-nine said that the ban on the plant was wrong; only one insisted that the plant was an inexcusable drug, and Anslinger quoted that lone voice while warning the American people about the consequences of its use.

When the nation was caught in the anti-plant wave, the 1937 tax law on the plant was passed smoothly, requiring all businesses handling it across the country to register and pay taxes. Those who registered were charged US$1 per ounce, and those who did not were charged as much as US$100 per ounce. As a result, the price of the plant rose, and it became difficult to obtain. More importantly, the law also established the plant as a controlled drug and banned the industry nationwide.

In the next forty years, the United States successively passed the Boggs Act, the Narcotics Control Act, the Extensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act, and the Prohibition of Drug Abuse Act, which not only increased penalties but also grouped the plant with heroin. Some critics argued that the 1937 tax law was prohibition under the guise of taxation, and it opened a series of amendments against the plant.

After CB1 and CB2 were discovered, California legalized the plant in 1996. As of July 2021, 18 states, including New York, had legalized recreational use, making the U.S. one of the countries that permit it. But in fact, U.S. federal law still classifies the plant as illegal. The very control actions that turned the plant from "medicinal materials" into "drugs" were initiated in the United States decades ago.

Anslinger also took the anti-plant campaign to the international level. In 1946, the UN established the "Commission on Narcotic Drugs," and Anslinger, who represented the United States, began to call on all countries to draft a single convention to more severely control all kinds of drugs. In 1961, member states passed the "Single Convention on Narcotics" international treaty, and the plant and opium, morphine, heroin and cocaine were listed as first-level controlled drugs. Until 2020, the plant was officially removed from the first-level controlled substance list.

In Taiwan, the Plant Is a Secondary Drug, and the Maximum Penalty Is Life Imprisonment

The plant is a secondary drug in Taiwan, and there are penalties for its manufacture, transportation, sale and use. Singer Xie Hexian tested positive for the plant during a routine urine test in September 2020. Since he re-offended within three years after completing the rehab, he could no longer replace the penalty with treatment and was referred under the "Drug Hazard Prevention and Control Regulations" to the New North District Prosecutor's Office for investigation.

Recently, Toyz, a professional League of Legends player, was suspected of selling cartridges containing plant extract. Since he has not yet obtained the status of a Taiwanese citizen, according to Article 95 of Taiwan's Criminal Law, he will be deported after the execution of the sentence or the pardon.

According to the "Regulations on Prevention and Control of Drug Harm", drugs in Taiwan are divided into four levels according to addiction, abuse and harm to society: the first level of drugs is the most harmful, and the list includes heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine, etc. The plant is classified as a second-level drug, equivalent to opium poppy, coca and amphetamines.

Level 1: Heroin, morphine, opium, cocaine and similar products;

Level 2: Poppy, coca, herb, amphetamines, paroxetine, pantozol and similar products;

Level 3: Cicobarbital, Isobarbital, naprofen and similar products

Level 4: Dipropenylbarbital, alprazolam and similar products