Fellow wrestlers not aware of Wakanoho's alleged marijuana smoking

Wednesday 20th August, 03:55 PM JST

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Latest 15 of 37 Total Comments Show All

thebottomline at 01:16 PM JST - 21st August

They didn't know? Isn't forgetting a symptom of usage?
soldave at 01:31 PM JST - 21st August

northlondon - but it's still illegal, right? Classing it as being similar to bread sounds like you could just rock on up to a Sainsbury or Morrison's and choose some from the counter. While a C-class drug is unlikely to give prison time (more likely a warning or caution), it is still not allowed as far as I'm aware.
northlondon at 01:55 PM JST - 21st August

Marjuana/ ganja/ spliff are not drugs. In the UK we label them in the same household food category as bread, milk and cornflakes...

Apologies. My tongue-in-cheek comment (above) was meant to be ironic and was meant to ridicule how the police and the JSA are acting, taking into consideration other far more serious things going on in sumo and in Japan today.
TheNewZen at 02:29 PM JST - 21st August

Interesting editorial and I agree with it:

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080821p2a00m0na003000c.html
dennis0bauer at 03:09 PM JST - 21st August

Off course did they not know, while they were "educating" new wrestlers, hakuhou sneaked out and smokked some grass :p
dennis0bauer at 03:12 PM JST - 21st August

oops i meant Wakanohou
serindipity at 03:23 PM JST - 21st August

I fail to see what the drug laws in England have to do with this story. The laws and penalties for being in possession of a controlled substance in Japan are very clear and strict. It's the same as drink driving. - 'Zero tolerance!' - If one of you foolish pot smokers think that because you come from a country where smoking pot is acceptable and the penalties are lean you will get a light punishment, think again! You'll lose your job, do time in the pen and have difficulties renewing a visa here. This wrestler is a foreigner too, which means his punishment and sentence will be doubled!
Youdontknow at 12:48 AM JST - 22nd August

Of course they didn't know! Why should they? The joint was put there by someone else and not his in the first place! So much for sticking by your friends eh!
Youdontknow at 12:49 AM JST - 22nd August

Serendipity...I see you're talking your usual BS again!

Shut up dickwad! It's nothing to do with being a foreigner you moron, it's all to do with Japanese Xenophobia...if you don't see it, then you have no right posting here! Then again, I've always said you're an idiot anyway!
ambrosia at 11:08 AM JST - 22nd August

Fellow wrestlers not aware of Wakanoho's alleged marijuana smoking

Then maybe it just wasn't that much of a problem. Were the fellow wrestlers aware of XXX's alcohol drinking? Probably not unless he started showing up late for work, getting aggressive, having "health" problems, etc and maybe not even then because for some odd, inane reason it's perfectly acceptable, encouraged even, to get stumbling drunk on a regular basis but it's not okay to get high. It just goes to show that the anti-pot laws are stupid laws and need to be re-examined. People can have an occassional toke and still be productive members of society - if you consider to be a productive endeavor that is.
seansezso at 02:47 PM JST - 24th August

I fail to see what the drug laws in England have to do with this story. The laws and penalties for being in possession of a controlled substance in Japan are very clear and strict. It's the same as drink driving.

Its not just the legal penalites that surpise us though. Its also the lifetime ban from Sumo. It seems like a serious case of over-kill with regards to both the law and the ban, and the laws of England put that over-kill into perspective. Marijuana is less harmful than alcohol, and Japan is sorely behind in catching up to that fact.
seansezso at 02:50 PM JST - 24th August

Why not drug test them? If they're clean they won't object.

RR

Mr. Blind Faith, allow me to introduce you to the concept of the false positive. You go looking for a problem, you just might find one where there isn't any. That is why we do not fix what is not broken. Also, its bad for morale to treat people like criminals on a whim.
seansezso at 02:53 PM JST - 24th August

If it's alleged, then that should be "if and when."

Its alleged only in the sense that the trial is pending. The man confessed already. No sense wasting time pretending he might actually be innocent now. Let's leave that to his lawyers.
TheNewZen at 03:04 PM JST - 24th August

Again people ignore his previous probs with the JSA.

The wrestler in question was a problem and been warned many times previously to this incident it just broke the camels back.

Previous troubles include breaking a shelf in the communal change room after loosing a fight, using fists/punches during a fight that are against the rules, bad/arrogant behaviour, etc.

He might have gotten of with a shorter ban if he didn't smoke at his stable (remember the pipe they found in his private room there).

Once he took his addiction to JSA property he was a goner as would be any athlete worldwide. So what is everyone getting upset about.

Care to smoke a pipe/snort some　powder in your company and expect to get off free when found out?
Damax6 at 03:03 PM JST - 27th August

they all KNEW, TRUST ME when i say, THEY KNEW. i know ALL of those rishikis when the just started about 10-15yrs. when a dear friend fought under that stablemaster. TRUST ME they knew