Hallucinogen parties using balloons filled with nitrous oxide (N2O) have become a prevalent social issue. Consequently in 2017, the government designated nitrous oxide as a hallucinogenic substance under the Chemical Substances Control Act and prohibited its inhalation, possession for inhalation, and sale, provision, etc., to persons intending to inhale the substance.
However, the Enforcement Decree of the same Act stipulates that an exception shall be made for cases where nitrous oxide is used for medical purposes. This means that it is still likely for nitrous oxide obtained for medical purposes to be abused as a hallucinogen. To prevent this, it is necessary to at least prohibit the purchase of drugs containing nitrous oxide without a doctor’s prescription.
Accordingly, the Amendment prescribes that over-the-counter drugs that can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription shall be specified from among drugs that do not contain hallucinogenic substances, thereby aiming to eradicate the purchase and abuse of hallucinogenic substances under the guise of medical use (Article 2, subparagraph 9).

Prescribe that over-the-counter drugs that can be purchased without a doctor’s prescription shall be specified from among drugs that do not contain hallucinogenic substances under the Chemicals Control Act (Article 2, subparagraph 9).