Japan's health ministry on Friday issued an order to ban the sale of 14 products that contain a substance similar to cannabis at stores nationwide and online.
Ministry officials say two cases of health damage were reported in April. People in their 20s were rushed to hospitals after they consumed products believed to contain the cannabis-like substance HHCPM and felt drowsy.
The cases led the ministry to think it is necessary to widely regulate the production and distribution of the substance.
The ministry's order brought the total number of banned products to 58.
The ministry already prohibited the sale of 44 products after a series of cases where people fell sick after consuming products containing substances similar to cannabis and were rushed to hospitals.
Officials are considering regulating the substance in the products as a designated drug.