13 senators sign panel report on use of medicinal marijuana

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THIRTEEN senators have signed the committee report which will legalize the use of cannabis or marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Submitted last Monday, Committee Report No. 210 was prepared by the Committee on Health and Demography and the Committees on Dangerous Drugs, and Finance contains Senate Bill No. 2573 (Cannabis Medicalization Act of the Philippines) which seeks a substitute for Senate Bill No. 230. Both proposed bills were authored by Sen. Robin Padilla.

The senators who signed the committee reports were Padilla, Christopher Go, Ronald dela Rosa, Juan Edgardo Angara, Joseph Victor Ejercito, Jinggoy Estrada, Mark Villar, Manuel “Lito” Lapid, Raffy Tulfo, Ramon Revilla Jr., Grace Poe, Aquilino Pimentel III, and Joel Villanueva.

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Go signed the report “with reservations, may amend”, Estrada signed but “will interpellate”, Villar and Revilla signed “with reservations”, Pimentel affixed his signature and “will interpellate”, Villanueva signed the report but “will interpellate and propose amendments”, while Poe will also interpellate.

“Pursuant thereto, the State shall legalize and regulate the medical use of cannabis which has been confirmed to have beneficial and therapeutic uses for known debilitating medical conditions,” the proposed measure said.

Under the proposed bill, A Philippine Medical Cannabis Authority (PMCA) will be created under the Department of Health to be the “principal regulatory agency” in the access and use of medical cannabis. It shall be headed by a director which will be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the health secretary.

An Advisory Committee on Medical Use of Cannabis will also be constituted which shall assist and provide directions in the formulation, implementation, and assessment of the policies, guidelines, and regulations under this law.

To be able to qualify for the use of medical cannabis, a person should be diagnosed by a certified physician “as having a debilitating medical condition and should register with the PMCA which will then assign a unique alphanumeric identification and issue a registry card with a quick response (QR) code for verification.”

A written prescription that will allow the use of medical cannabis will be recognized if the physician is duly licensed by the Professional Regulations Commission and “in good standing,” has no previous or existing criminal or administrative case/s, a holder of an S2 license issued by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and has undergone training for medical cannabis from the PMCA.

“The certifying physician shall not use a written prescription for his or her use, or the use of his or her immediate family or relatives within the second civil degree of consanguinity or affinity,” the proposed measure said.

The prescription will have a validity of one year from the date it was issued.

A prescription may be revoked if it is misused, if there is a failure to abide by the prescribed dosage, if the patient no longer suffers from a debilitating medical condition, if the patient has not received therapeutic or palliative benefits from the use of medical cannabis, or if the patient dies.

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