‘Cannahopefuls’

It’s a debate in many governments: should medical marijuana be legalized?

Last month the Dangerous Drugs Board approved in principle the use of the chemical compound cannabidiol or CBD for epilepsy. This is the non-addictive component of hemp, a cousin of cannabis sativa, the plant we know as marijuana. The chemical compound that produces a high is THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol. The DDB is going along with the medical use of CBD with no more than 0.1 percent THC – something that the US Drug Enforcement Agency had approved in 2018.

As pointed out by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, the use of prohibited drugs for medical purposes is in fact already allowed under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, or Republic Act 9165. Section 2 of RA 9165 states that while the government pursues its campaign against illegal drugs, it will also “aim to achieve a balance in the national drug control program so that people with legitimate medical needs are not prevented from being treated with adequate amounts of appropriate medications, which include the use of dangerous drugs.”

So it looks like the Philippines will soon see the legal use of the CBD oral solution Epidiolex, which the US Food and Drug Administration approved also in 2018 for the treatment of seizures associated with two severe forms of epilepsy: Lennox-Gastaut and Dravet syndromes.

There is another debate, on the full legalization of marijuana: its production and commercial sale for both medical and recreational uses.

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Governments are watching the impact of this kind of legalization in several US states and in certain South American countries, where governments are seeing such a move as the best way to kill the narcos.

Hemp is supposed to be a more benign variety of the cannabis family, containing no more than 0.3 percent THC (marijuana can contain up to 30 percent). Hemp has been used to produce rope, housing material, paper and fabric. It can be taken like tea and incorporated into products such as chocolate, soap and skin creams.

Hemp products have been openly sold in New Zealand long before California legalized marijuana. In recent years, hemp items have been sold in international airports including one of the world’s busiest, Amsterdam’s Schiphol.

When I asked the store clerks if I could bring the items home with me as souvenirs, they warned me that while I could bring out the goods, I should check Philippine laws first if I didn’t want to land in jail upon arrival in Manila.

RA 9165 imposes tough penalties, and no, cannabis and its cousins are prohibited in the Philippines. For medical marijuana, a CBD importer must secure a Compassionate Special Permit from the Food and Drug Administration. Officials have said that so far, no one has applied for such a permit for CBD.

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Potheads are familiar with the pain-killing properties of marijuana. It must have been a pot user who discovered the efficacy of cannabis in calming epileptics, deadening chronic pain and easing the suffering of cancer patients.

DDB Chairman Catalino Cuy is underwhelmed by the effects of marijuana. I’m presuming he’s tried it and didn’t get the expected high – but he doesn’t have epilepsy or a final-stage life-threatening disease for which CBD is supposed to be highly effective.

Cuy also shares the concern of certain other law enforcers involved in the anti-drug campaign, who fear that legalizing even a component of cannabis will inexorably lead to its full legalization – for its recreational use, production and commercial sale. Marijuana, Cuy points out, is a gateway drug – introducing users to stronger prohibited substances.

Medical professionals are also divided on the issue, with opponents arguing that there are other painkillers and drugs for epilepsy in the market. “Cannahopefuls” say nothing provides the same efficacy as CBD.

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Aside from the medicinal benefits of cannabis, those pushing for marijuana legalization say it’s the best way to kill the illicit industry, and the corruption and criminality that are engendered by any illegal activity with such massive profits.

Cuy doesn’t buy the argument that if you can’t stop something illegal, you should legalize it. The counter-argument is that this needs nuancing: certain items benefit from legalization. Think of alcoholic beverages and Prohibition in the United States.

The US apparently thinks marijuana legalization is the way to go. In just two decades, 32 states have followed California in the legalization of medical marijuana.

Medical marijuana is legal in about 30 countries; its recreational use is legal in four as well as in 11 states in the US and in the District of Columbia. In Southeast Asia, medical marijuana is legal in Thailand.

Cuy told “The Chiefs” recently on Cignal TV’s One News that the DDB sent a team to Denver to see the impact of marijuana legalization. Marijuana use was up in the city, the team noted. Did legalization lead to a spike in crime? This crucial issue in the debate, unfortunately, was something the DDB team failed to establish.

There are discussions in some South American countries about legalizing even cocaine, where the coca plant has been grown for ages and traditionally used for rituals and for treating afflictions such as headaches.

Perhaps one of the multilateral agencies can conduct a definitive global study on drugs and criminality.

One side of the argument is that a person high on drugs is more prone to commit crimes. This tends to be borne out by the arrest of rapists and murderers who confessed to being high, or were established to be high on drugs, when they committed the crimes.

On the other hand, there is the argument that drug traffickers and their minions commit the most atrocious crimes in line with their trade, including rape, kidnapping, torture and murder. The corruption that sustains their illegal activity also undermines governance, democracy and its institutions, and the very fabric of society.

In the case of marijuana, legalization may address some of these problems. But marijuana may have to be placed under a separate category. Certain approaches in addressing the illegal marijuana trade cannot be applied to the trafficking of shabu and cocaine.

While the debates rage, cannahopefuls in the Philippines are looking forward to the upcoming availability of CBD.