By Mar T. Supnad
CANDON, Ilocos Sur -- Marijuana growers along
the hinterlands of southern part of Ilocos Sur and Cordillera will have
lucrative income once a law legalizing marijuana as a medicine is approved in
Congress.
A number of towns along uplands of Ilocos Sur and Cordillera reportedly have marijuana plantations despite raids and uprooting activities by the police.
This development came after a Bicol lawmaker on Wednesday said last week’s vote by the United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND) was meant to delete cannabidiol (CBD) from its list of most dangerous drugs.
The solon said this has prompted the House committee on health to take urgent action on his bill to legalize production and international marketing of this non-addictive and non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
“This will make it a lot more accessible and cheaper for Filipinos in need of this revolutionary medicine,” said Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.
“I am calling on the House committee on health chaired by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan to finally consider the pending House Bill (HB) No. 3961 and submit it to a vote by the panel, in the wake of game-changing initiatives that have bolstered the international recognition and commercial marketing of the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of CBD, which is the non-addictive and non-hallucinogenic component of the cannabis plant,” Villafuerte, who authored HB 3961 said.
Villafuerte said the report that the speedy congressional action on— and approval of—HB No. 3961 will not run counter to the government’s policy against the illicit drug trade because, saying “CBD is the medicinal strain of the cannabis plant that is neither addictive nor producing the so-called buzz or ‘high’ for recreational users.”
He said the UN CND vote last week to remove cannabis from the list of the dangerous category of narcotic drugs is now timely for the House health panel to submit HB 3961 to a committee vote so lawmakers could finally take action on this proposal.
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) approved last February the use of CBD for people with epilepsy.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) also recommended to the CND to allow CBD with 0.2 percent THC to be reclassified in the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances as Schedule 4. The Philippines is among the 34 signatories to this treaty.
Owing to this, Villafuerte sought congressional approval of new legislation creating his proposed Philippine Cannabis Development Authority (PhilCADA) to oversee the local production of CBD would “subsequently make it more affordable for people in need of its treatment, instead of its use being limited to those suffering from epilepsy.”
He said, “Such an end result is in keeping with the ultimate goal of President Duterte to make medical care more accessible and affordable for the Filipino people.
A number of towns along uplands of Ilocos Sur and Cordillera reportedly have marijuana plantations despite raids and uprooting activities by the police.
This development came after a Bicol lawmaker on Wednesday said last week’s vote by the United Nations (UN) Commission on Narcotics Drugs (CND) was meant to delete cannabidiol (CBD) from its list of most dangerous drugs.
The solon said this has prompted the House committee on health to take urgent action on his bill to legalize production and international marketing of this non-addictive and non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant.
“This will make it a lot more accessible and cheaper for Filipinos in need of this revolutionary medicine,” said Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte.
“I am calling on the House committee on health chaired by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan to finally consider the pending House Bill (HB) No. 3961 and submit it to a vote by the panel, in the wake of game-changing initiatives that have bolstered the international recognition and commercial marketing of the medicinal and therapeutic benefits of CBD, which is the non-addictive and non-hallucinogenic component of the cannabis plant,” Villafuerte, who authored HB 3961 said.
Villafuerte said the report that the speedy congressional action on— and approval of—HB No. 3961 will not run counter to the government’s policy against the illicit drug trade because, saying “CBD is the medicinal strain of the cannabis plant that is neither addictive nor producing the so-called buzz or ‘high’ for recreational users.”
He said the UN CND vote last week to remove cannabis from the list of the dangerous category of narcotic drugs is now timely for the House health panel to submit HB 3961 to a committee vote so lawmakers could finally take action on this proposal.
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) approved last February the use of CBD for people with epilepsy.
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) also recommended to the CND to allow CBD with 0.2 percent THC to be reclassified in the 1971 UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances as Schedule 4. The Philippines is among the 34 signatories to this treaty.
Owing to this, Villafuerte sought congressional approval of new legislation creating his proposed Philippine Cannabis Development Authority (PhilCADA) to oversee the local production of CBD would “subsequently make it more affordable for people in need of its treatment, instead of its use being limited to those suffering from epilepsy.”
He said, “Such an end result is in keeping with the ultimate goal of President Duterte to make medical care more accessible and affordable for the Filipino people.
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