Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 13) — Progress in efforts to make medical cannabis more accessible in the Philippines, as the Senate wrapped up committee hearings on the proposal.
Senator Robin Padilla, head of the subcommittee on Medical Cannabis Compassionate Access Act, adjourned the legislative inquiry Thursday after three public hearings. Next is the crafting of a committee report which needs to be approved by majority of panel members for the measure to be tackled in plenary.
During the last committee hearing, Padilla reported results of his visit to Israel in May. Israel is a global leader in the research of medical cannabis, which is currently being used to treat more than 100,000 patients there who are suffering severe health conditions like epilepsy and cancer.
Padilla said he witnessed Israel’s stringent measures in cultivating pharmaceutical grade cannabis more commonly known in the Philippines as medical marijuana.
“Mas gusto nila yung indoor. Ayaw po nila nung nasa labas dahil pagka nasa labas, prone na magkaroon ng amag, magkaroon ng insekto. Yun pong napakahigpit na talagang ito ay gamot,” Padilla shared.
[Translation: They prefer to do it indoors because outdoor settings make the cannabis plants prone to molds and insects. They are very strict in treating it as a medicine.]
Dangerous Drugs Board legal consultant Ferdaussi Masnar pointed out that like Israel, the Philippines should start with research and development. There is no need for new legislation to do this, Masnar said, arguing that Section 16 of Republic Act 9165 already allows medical laboratories and medical research centers to cultivate or culture marijuana.
However, Chuck Manansala of local company Masikhay Research said cultivating marijuana even for research purposes remains risky, considering that the plant is still under Schedule 1, which states that marijuana has no recognized medicinal value in the Philippines. Reclassification requests are pending.
“Ano yung ireresearch namin e kailangan magtanim kami?” he asked. “Baka umpisahan namin, bigla kaming paghuhulihin e.”
[Translation: What will we research when we have to plant? We might get arrested if we start.]
Meanwhile, Senator JV Ejercito stressed that the Philippines should be able to implement safeguards against abuse, just like the bar codes placed by Israel on every medical cannabis product to monitor its usage.
“Maganda yung kanilang software. Israel naman is really known for advancement in IT sa mga program, perhaps they can assist us and help us in case maipasa natin ito,” he said.
[Translation: They have the software for this. Israel is really known for advancement in IT, perhaps they can assist us and help us in case this is passed into law.]
Marijuana remains an illegal, dangerous drug in the Philippines even after a UN commission removed cannabis from its list of most dangerous narcotics.
