A drug enforcer is encouraging Filipino medical expects to conduct a study on the efficacy of medical cannabis, while the bill for its usage is being discussed right now in the Senate.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director Derrick Carreon said that the basis for lawmakers in conducting studies for its passage are studies done by foreign experts, which may not be applicable in the Philippines.
“We have to realize that the studies made by foreigners, might not necessary be totally applicable for Filipinos, or Asians for that matter,” Carreon said on Monday during the Rehabinasyon: The First National Anti-Drugs Summit at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City.
Last week, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the House Bill 6517 or the Act Providing Compassionate and Right of Access to Medical Cannabis and Expanding Research into its Medicinal Properties and for Other Purposes.
The bill only allows the legal usage of marijuana for the benefit of patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions, such as diseases that cause wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures including the characteristic of epilepsy, or severe and persistent muscle spasms.
Carreon said that PDEA is closely coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH), through the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, also present during the presscon, said that the DOH will closely coordinate in the crafting of the implementing rules and regulations.
“We will support the House and Senate in their decision to approve and recommendation in the enactment of the bill. But the regulatory framework must be very clear on how we are to implement such law,” Duque said.
He said that DOH and FDA are ready to train doctors, once the law will be implemented.
“FDA has a Cannabis Compassionate Lane for doctors, if they think that patients are no longer responding to the traditional medicines such as analgesic or pain killers. They must clearly convince the drug board for the justification on why they need to result to cannabis,” Duque said.
Meanwhile, Dangerous Drug Board (DDB) assistant secretary Walter Bebas said that now is not yet the time for the approval of the medical cannabis.
He said that lawmakers should thoroughly study the proposal, so that the Philippines will not suffer a “law enforcement nightmare” like in the United States.
States such as Idaho, Nebraska, and South Dakota are the only states that has prohibited marijuana for any purposes.
“The legalization of marijuana in the States is not based on study, but as a result of plebiscite,” Bebas said.
He also said that even the World Health Organization (WHO) has not yet come up with a medical proof that cannabis can indeed cure medical conditions.
