The Philippines House of Representatives voted Tuesday in favor of the medical marijuana bill, House Bill 10439. Under the measure that passed in a 177-9-9 vote, medical marijuana will be legal to use as a treatment for various health conditions.
The bill also proposes the establishment of the Medical Cannabis Office (MCO), under the Department of Health (DOH), which will be in charge of regulating the program. Among other functions, MCO will provide authorizations to licensed physicians to issue medical marijuana prescriptions upon prior and mandatory clearance from the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) that the physician is not included in the agency’s dangerous drugs watch list.
The measure lists the following medical conditions that would qualify patients to use medical marijuana for cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, intractable spasticity, epilepsy, HIV, post-traumatic stress disorder, rheumatoid arthritis “or similar chronic autoimmune inflammatory disorders” that require hospice care admission, and other conditions that may be identified by the DOH through the MCO.
Previous Efforts
A similar legislation, Senate Bill 2573, sponsored by by Senator Robin Padilla, is under debate in the Senate. Even though the bill aims to establish a regulated framework for medical marijuana consumption, emphasizing stringent oversight and research purposes, it faces challenges and scrutiny over safety, regulation and public health impacts. Among lawmakers opposing the bill is the president's sister, Imee Marcos, writes Bloomberg.
During his 2022 campaign, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he would support medical marijuana legalization if it's strictly regulated, but he hasn't commented on the legislature's recent actions to enact it. Previous efforts to legalize it failed, when former president Rodrigo Duterte opposed the action, even though the House of Representatives approved the measure.
If this time, the Philippines succeeds in the reform it would be among the few countries in Asia to allow legal medical marijuana use, including South Korea. Thailand is in the process of regulating both medical and recreational use after many U-turns.
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