Medicinal cannabis production facility in Bulacan inspected

GUIGUINTO, Bulacan, Philippines — Optimistic that Congress can pass in the near future the bill on medicinal cannabis use in the country, stakeholders led by Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers yesterday visited and inspected a possible production facility for the plant in Bulacan.

Richard Nixon Gomez, a scientist, inventor and general manager of Baurtek Corp. based in this town, toured the stakeholders around the facility that has isolation and extraction capabilities and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to manufacture drugs, supplements and cosmetics.

With Barbers were Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Laboratory Service director Randy Pedroso, Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care director general Dr. Annabelle Pabiona de Guzman, Indian embassy representatives and officials of the Indian Ministry of Ayush, which is responsible for developing education, research and propagation of the traditional Indian ayurvedic medicine system.

Barbers, who chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs, confirmed that their committee is continuously conducting hearings on medicinal cannabis use, and has created a technical working group that can provide position papers for concerned government agencies before the committee can finalize a proposed legislation.

If the bill for medicinal cannabis is passed into law, strict regulation should be implemented in the production of medicinal cannabis, according to the lawmaker.