Tag: philippines

Earlier this year the Philippines House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved HB 10439, a measure that would legalize certain medical cannabis therapeutic products in the Philippines in limited instances. The principal author of HB 10439 is National Unity Party president and Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.

Voting 177-9-9, House approves on third and final reading HB 10439, which would provide right of access to medical cannabis and establish the Medical Cannabis Office.

Committee Report: https://t.co/dA4SHtYwKl

— House of Representatives of the Philippines (@HouseofRepsPH) July 30, 2024

Despite the overwhelming approval in the Philippines House of Representatives, the measure appears to have stalled now that it is being considered by the Philippines Senate. Representative Villafuerte is urging Senators to approve the measure with no further delays.

“With the House’s third and final approval of HB 10439 in the previous legislative session, what we only need now is for our senators to act on their counterpart measure, in the hope that we can come up with an enrolled bill for submission to, and enactment into law by, President Marcos this third and final session of the 19th Congress,” Villafuerte said according to local reporting by Politiko.

What is being proposed in the Philippines is the legalization of cannabidiol (CBD) in limited circumstances, which, compared to other medical cannabis legalization models found around the world, would still be very restrictive. Representative Villafuerte is hopeful that the international spread of reform will tip the scales in the Philippines.

“I am more upbeat that the Congress will be able this time around to finally write a law allowing qualified patients with debilitating diseases to use CBD as an alternative treatment for their afflictions, hoping that the UN CND’s recognition of non-addictive CBD will convince most of our senators to pass their measure (Senate Bill 2573) legalizing medical cannabis,” Villafuerte said.

According to a recent study conducted by researchers from Ukraine and France, and published by the U.S. National Institute of Health, 57 countries have adopted medical cannabis legalization measures.

The cultivation and/or use of cannabis is currently illegal in the Philippines, per Republic Act 9165 and the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. The level of penalty depends on the amount involved and whether there was perceived intent to distribute by law enforcement.

Furthermore, even simply having metabolized THC in a person’s system is illegal in the Philippines, with offenders being required to undergo at least six months at a government rehabilitation center if they are prosecuted.

Back in December 2022, a petition was submitted by cannabis advocates that sought to reclassify cannabis from its current position on the nation’s list of dangerous substances. The board that oversees such petitions has yet to respond. Advocates are ramping up pressure to yield the response. Per excerpts from Inquirer:

In his statement, Manansala said that the DDB acknowledged the receipt of the petition during a Senate Committee hearing on December 13, 2022.

He added that he was given a date of July 31, 2023 for a “definitive action” on the petition but the “date came and went without a response, much less an action.”

Manansala noted that he was again snubbed by a DBB representative at the latest Senate hearing on the matter last month.

One of the driving forces behind the push to reclassify cannabis in the Philippines is to afford suffering patients the opportunity to seek safe access to cannabis medicines and therapies.

House Bill 4208 was previously filed by Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte. The measure seeks to create a national regulatory agency to oversee the production and marketing for the export of cannabidiol.

“We are in favor of the legalization of medical use of marijuana and its products, your honor,” Commission on Appointments on Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa stated at the time.

While many parts of the world have reformed their laws to permit the use of cannabis for medical purposes, the Philippines has been much slower to do so. Unfortunately, cannabis is prohibited in all of its forms in the Philippines, and the nation’s cannabis penalties are some of the harshest on planet Earth.

The binding law is the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which specifies hefty fines and long prison sentences for cannabis offenses. The level of penalty depends on the amount involved and whether there was perceived intent to distribute by law enforcement.

Even simply having metabolized THC in a person’s system is illegal in the Philippines, with offenders being required to undergo at least six months at a government rehabilitation center.

Fortunately, the nation’s government is slowly opening up to the idea of at least permitting cannabidiol (CBD) products. Per The Manila Times:

Among the pending measures was House Bill 4208 filed by Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte that seeks to create a state agency to oversee the production and marketing for the export of CBD, which does not have psychoactive properties that produce a “high” effect like those experienced by marijuana users.

During the hearing of the Commission on Appointments on Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa’s ad-interim appointment last September, Villafuerte, who acts as the majority floor leader of the Commission, asked him whether he supported the legal use of cannabis oil for medicinal purposes.

“We are in favor of the legalization of medical use of marijuana and its products, your honor,” Herbosa replied, adding that the DoH will pursue medicinal cannabis legalization as a policy.

To be clear, the type of reform that is being pursued in the Philippines is incredibly restrictive and will only help a limited number of suffering patients. Hopefully this type of reform succeeds and paves the way for more comprehensive reform.