Pot scandal jolts Japan's sumo world

[underpants]

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCrMy-CFjvfMrOvXQiqKedzfN1agD965K5R82

TOKYO (AP) — Sumo wrestlers with pot bellies, yes. Sumo wrestlers with pot? Now that's harder to grapple with.

In the past six months, four wrestlers have been kicked out of the ancient sport for allegedly smoking marijuana, creating the biggest drugs-in-sports scandal that Japan has ever seen.

Although three of the wrestlers who have been expelled from the sport were from Russia, the arrest last week of a 25-year-old Japanese athlete who goes by the ring name of Wakakirin for possession of marijuana has raised concern that use of the drug may be more widespread than originally thought.

The sting of the busts in sumo — which only recently introduced doping tests — was made all the worse because of the breakdown in Japan's still relatively drug-free environment. Marijuana use, in particular, is rising rapidly despite a stiff punishment — up to five years in prison for possession.

"We are appalled by his utter folly," The Asahi, a major newspaper, said in an outraged editorial. "Some young people casually try pot. It is vital that we educate them on the risks of this drug from a fairly early age."

More than being simply a drug issue, however, the scandal has been amplified by the fact that it involves one of the world's oldest and most tradition-bound sports — and one that is solidly rooted in religious purification ritual.