House approves proposed Medical Cannabis Act

Stock photo of legally prescribed cannabis in the UK by Stephen Cobb on Unsplash

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed on third and final reading a measure legalizing the medical use of marijuana.

On Tuesday’s plenary session, 177 lawmakers voted to approve House Bill 10439 or the proposed “Access to Medical Cannabis Act” while nine of their colleagues thumbed down the draft measure and nine others abstained.

HB 10439 would allow the use of medical cannabis (marijuana), making it accessible to qualified patients, and create a Medical Cannabis Office as a regulatory body.

Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, one of the sponsors of the measure, emphasized that the bill was only intended to allow patients have access to marijuana similar to making pharmaceutical products available to them.

The chair of the House committee on dangerous drugs said, “By no means is this bill a gateway to the recreational use of cannabis,” as marijuana would remain in the list of dangerous and illegal drugs.

Medical, research purposes

HB 10349 would legalize the use of marijuana for qualified patients with debilitating or non-debilitating medical conditions or symptoms, with access only available through prescription and supervision of an accredited physician.

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The draft measure would set the regulations for medical cannabis’ cultivation, manufacture, distribution for medical and research purposes, as well as its prescription and dispensation to patients.

The Medical Cannabis Office, which would be under the Department of Health, would oversee implementation, including licensing and enforcement, and work with the Dangerous Drugs Board in ensuring compliance to safety and security requirements to prevent the non-medical or recreational use of marijuana.

A similar measure, the proposed Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, was passed on third and final reading by the House in January 2019, during the 17th Congress.

But after then President Rodrigo Duterte changed his mind about supporting such a bill, the Senate did not pursue its version of that measure.

Last February, the Philippine Medical Association expressed its opposition to that measure, saying it would “open the floodgates for the legalization of recreational marijuana.”

Health reform advocate Dr. Tony Leachon also opposed that bill, saying that it was being “railroaded without listening to the medical community.” WITH INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ