law-evading herb; synthetic marijuana; fake pot
Refers to psychoactive substances sold as legal alternatives to illegal drugs, often marketed as 'herbs' or 'incense' but containing synthetic cannabinoids. The term is strongly associated with the social problem in Japan around the early 2010s.
Health problems caused by law-evading herbs became a social issue.
The police raided a shop selling law-evading herbs.
Compound of 脱法 (law-evasion) and ハーブ (herb). Coined in Japan to describe psychoactive products that circumvented drug laws by not being explicitly listed as controlled substances.