睡眠導入剤を大量不正入手か　適正量の20倍8000錠　転売？不審な人物を目撃【もっと知りたい！】【グッド！モーニング】(2026年7月22日)

It has been discovered that a person in Tokyo is being prescribed over 8,000 sleeping pills annually at a pharmacy, more than 20 times the appropriate amount. Similar cases are occurring frequently in Tokyo, and organized resale is suspected, prompting the pharmacists' association to request action from the government. ■ Over 8,000 sleeping pills per year… Kazuo Asao (56), Chairman of the Sumida Ward Pharmacists' Association: "If we consider the possibility of criminal activity, it's a matter of personal danger, a little frightening… I think it's scary." The person who exposed the problem to the program was Chairman Asao of the Sumida Ward Pharmacists' Association. Three years ago, Chairman Asao witnessed a suspicious Japanese man obtaining large quantities of sleeping pills from multiple pharmacies. Similar cases have reportedly occurred frequently this year as well. "I happened to be looking at the records and noticed that the pharmacy where I worked the previous week had also dispensed the same medication to the same patient. Since it was the same name, I thought it was strange and checked the records, and I realized it was a case of multiple consultations." Chairman Asao reported this to the patient's health insurance association. It was then discovered that the patient had visited multiple pharmacies in Sumida Ward and other areas, receiving over 8,000 sleeping pills annually. ■The suspicious individual's unusual behavior… The normal dosage of this sleeping pill is one pill per day for a single patient. The maximum appropriate dosage is 365 pills per year, so this is approximately 20 times the normal amount. "Clearly, thousands of pills is not a normal amount. Therefore, I think there might be a criminal element to it." "(Q. What would happen if one person took this much?) I don't think it would be just a coma or dizziness; it would be beyond that level. Thousands of pills is abnormal. I absolutely cannot believe that one person took them all." Chairman Asao expressed growing concern that the drugs might be being resold or misused in criminal activities. We shared information with local medical and pharmaceutical associations in neighboring municipalities and issued warnings, which revealed the suspicious individual's unusual behavior. "There was a case where the individual visited 11 medical institutions and 9 pharmacies on the same day, receiving prescriptions from multiple locations. It was discovered that they were obtaining medication across several wards, including Taito and Arakawa." "(Q. Is it possible to visit so many in one day?) Yes, it is. It's hard not to think they were doing it systematically." This month, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare issued a notice stating that if there is suspicion of duplicate prescriptions and the proper use of the medication cannot be confirmed, the provision of medication can be refused. However, Chairman Asao says that once a prescription is presented at the counter, it's not easy to refuse. "If we refuse to dispense medication, there's a possibility that something like an attack could occur, for example. It's frightening, and I've heard stories of pharmacies and doctors dispensing medication anyway because they're afraid something might happen." ■ Question to Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Ueno Currently, similar incidents continue to occur in the same area, and since medical professionals alone cannot take countermeasures, Chairman Asao consulted with local ward council members. Atsushi Sato, Sumida Ward Council Member "(Q. When Chairman Asao consulted you?) I thought, 'This is outrageous.' Social insurance premiums are already rising. With the burden on citizens increasing, we cannot tolerate even a single instance of fraud. This problem isn't limited to Sumida Ward; it's happening all over the country. I've asked the Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare to establish a certain system. We want to create a system in each district to ensure that such incidents are not tolerated." Last week, Chairman Asao, along with Sumida Ward council members, visited the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. They submitted a request to the Minister for national measures. On the 21st, TV Asahi questioned Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Kenichiro Ueno about this issue at a press conference. Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare Ueno: "Transferring prescribed psychotropic drugs to others is a violation of the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Control Act. Therefore, we will consider effective measures, including strengthening responses at the dispensing stage and enforcement, to address the illegal resale of psychotropic drugs by people who are excessively visiting medical institutions." (From the broadcast on July 22, 2026) [TV Asahi NEWS] https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp