Japan's health ministry says it is planning to ban HHCH, a synthetic substance derived from cannabis, as soon as this week after people who consumed gummies containing the cannabinoid had to go to the hospital earlier this month.
The number of seriously-ill patients who typically need intensive care treatment in hospitals and require the use of ventilators or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines jumped by 119 from a day earlier, the ministry said.