PH lawmakers pass bill legalizing medical marijuana on second reading

Marijuana. Photo: Pixabay 

Is legalizing medical marijuana actually gaining steam with Philippine lawmakers? It sure looks like it.

The Philippines’ House of Representatives approved yesterday a bill that will legalize that use of marijuana for medical purposes.

No less than House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo backed House Bill 6517 or the Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, the Philippine Star reported.

Arroyo, who was previously president of the Philippines, earlier admitted that she uses marijuana patches to ease pain from a cervical spine problem.

“I really believe in medical cannabis. As you know I have my problem here (cervical spine) and when I’m in a country that allows it, I put a pain patch but here in the Philippines I cannot do it,” she said earlier this month.

If enacted, those suffering from serious diseases will be allowed to use marijuana as an alternative form of medicine.

Medical Cannabis Compassionate Centers will be established by the Department of Health. These centers will be in charge of acquiring, possessing, manufacturing, and selling marijuana.

They will not be available over-the-counter and will only be sold in licensed hospitals, Kabayan party-list Representative Ron Salo, one of the bill’s authors, said according to GMA News. Similarly, only licensed doctors can prescribe medical marijuana.

Qualified patients and caregivers will be issued ID cards.

Marijuana use is currently prohibited by the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The new bill will not decriminalize marijuana for non-medical use, its principal author Rep. Rodito T. Albano III said, The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported.

It also can’t be used in its raw form, the bill states.

Before Arroyo, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte himself admitted to using marijuana to stay awake and keep up with his busy schedule.

His spokesperson Salvador Panelo also said in December that the president would sign any bill that legalizes medical marijuana.

The massively popular Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray also famously expressed support for legalizing marijuana for medical use during the pageant’s coronation night in December.

Even the Philippines Catholic Church has said that “compassionate” use of marijuana by the terminally-ill is A-OK.

The Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act was first approved by the House Committee on Health in September 2017, CNN Philippines reported.

It would have to go through a third reading in the House of Representatives before it can be reviewed by a bicameral conference committee. It will then need to be reconciled with the Senate’s version of the bill before being passed to Duterte for signing.

If enacted, the Philippines will be following the footsteps of its Southeast Asian neighbor Thailand which became the first country in the region to legalize medical marijuana.

This article, PH lawmakers pass bill legalizing medical marijuana on second reading , originally appeared on Coconuts, Asia's leading alternative media company. For more Coconuts stories, you can download our app, sign up for our newsletters, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.