Japanese teenagers are getting more and more steam than ‘zombie juice’

In the early stage Julya 16-year-old Okinawa boy was arrested for possessing vape liquid containing etomidine. A day ago, two men in their twenties picked them up with the same charge. Liquids are sold on the gray market under the name “laughing vape” and contain eTomate, a short-acting sedative that is often used in the emergency room to knock patients down before surgery. When recreational inhalation, it leads to separation, memory loss, respiratory depression and stiff lethargic, winning the street name “zombie vape” or “zombie juice”.

The drug is officially banned in Japan May 16, 2025Reports of abuse in Southeast Asia and use dispersed throughout Japan. But law enforcement is fast – public education does not. Just a few weeks after the ban, it was illegal for young people in Okinawa to possess substances that might not be known.

What are eTomaties?

Medically, reputable pididization is used to induce rapid sedation during emergency intubation. It has a highly effective, fast action and precious because of its ability to knock someone down without lowering blood pressure – a key feature of trauma patients. But outside of a controlled hospital environment, it is dangerous to rely on the throne.

When used recreationally, the reliance state can cause power outages, muscle twitching and zombie-like disorientation. It does not have a height as high as a neurological substitution, making it difficult for the user to speak or walk normally for the time being. In Southeast Asia, it is notorious at underground vape scenes, sometimes sold under misleading names or mixed with legal substances. It’s not addictive in a classic sense, but its ultra-shortness and intense separation attract curiosity.

Legal gray area, now completely black

In Japan, relying on Martin was technically legal until May, when the government added it to the list of designated drugs under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Act. Now, possession, distribution or use can result in up to three years in prison or a fine of 3 million yen. Ignorance is no exception – “I Don’t Know” was not held in court.

“The moment the government designates drugs, any continued property becomes a crime,” Tokyo defense attorney Tomoki Amemiya told Thermos, a defense attorney in Tokyo. Yahoo News Japan. “Even if you have it legally before, you can keep it, which will lead to arrest.”

The influence of the reliance state is undoubtedly dangerous. The lack of clear information around it poses another risk. Thanks to the label error, some people might think it’s just herbal vape. Others may be told “just like nitrogen.” They may not know that they are taking a clinical anesthesia—they may not know that it is illegal.

Arrests mark a bigger problem: In the case of a line between law and illegal substances shifting without much notice, the legal system punishes quickly but educates slowly. Okinawan teenagers will now be conducted through Japan’s criminal justice system and face charges that could result in sentences, fines and even imprisonment time.

Meanwhile, vape sellers adapted to new compounds that were not yet prohibited. Teens continue experimenting in the dark. and a system that is more interested in punishment than a preventive cycle.

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