House approves medical marijuana bill on final reading

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved on third and final reading a bill allowing the use of medical marijuana in the country.

The lower house, voting 163-5-3, passed the House Bill 6517 or the Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act.

The bill’s principal author, Rep. Rodolfo Albano (Isabela), said the proposed measure, once enacted into law would allow the use of medical marijuana for those suffering from debilitating diseases like epilepsy under strict regulation by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.

The bill also seeks to establish the Medical Cannabis Compassionate Center licensed by the DOH to acquire, possess, manufacture and sell cannabis to registered qualifying patients.

The measure was backed by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who admitted to using medical cannabis patches to ease the pain in her cervical spine.

There is no counterpart bill in the Senate yet but some senators said they are open to the legalization of medical marijuana.

Marijuana is one of the prohibited substances under the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

In 2017, the University of the Philippines Manila expressed objection to proposals to legalize medical cannabis as “this will expose our citizenry to unnecessary harm and the risk of poor health outcomes.” — Gaea Katreena Cabico