Is marijuana a harmful drug or a beneficial medicine? This question has been a hot topic in the House of Representatives after a proposal to legalize compassionate and right access to medical cannabis was submitted for plenary consideration.
Rep. Rodolfo T. Albano III said his House Bill (HB) 6517, or the proposed Philippine Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act, is calling for the legalization of medical cannabis for hundreds of thousands of patients suffering from serious and debilitating diseases.
“In the Philippines, thousands of patients suffering from serious and debilitating diseases would benefit from legalizing the medical use of cannabis,” he said.
Albano stressed that his proposal should not be deemed in any manner as advocating, authorizing, promoting or legally or socially accepting the use of cannabis or marijuana for any non-medical use.
The measure will amend Republic Act (RA) 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, which classifies marijuana or cannabis as a dangerous drug.
For palliative cure
Recent studies, Albano said, show that cannabis has established effects on control of epileptic seizures, pain management in multiple sclerosis and arthritis, treatment of symptoms associated with HIV-AIDS and palliative care in end-stage cancer treatment.
“Potential medical effects based on clinical trials include prevention of cancer from spreading, management of anxiety, slowing progression of Alzheimer’s disease and controlling muscle spasms and tremors. Cannabis use in children with epilepsy and seizure disorders have been shown to be effective without the deleterious side effects of anti-epileptic medications,” Albano said.
According to Albano, his bill does not decriminalize the use of marijuana, except for medicinal purposes for qualified patients certified by doctors with S2 license who have assessed their medical history and current medical conditions.
“Neither does it allow smoking of cannabis; and its recreational use continues to be prohibited by law. It can be dispensed only by hospital-based Medical Cannabis Compassionate Centers through licensed S3 pharmacists. Research and safety of medical cannabis will be ensured through licensed Medical Cannabis Research and Safety Compliance Centers licensed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA),” he said.
Patient tagging
The bill mandates the secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) to lead the formulation of regulations to implement the act. The secretary shall also issue registered ID cards to qualified patients after a careful review of their required documents.
It also provides for the establishment of the Medical Cannabis Compassionate Center (MCCC), which refers to any entity registered with the DOH and licensed to acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, sell, supply and dispense cannabis, devices or related supplies and educational materials to registered qualifying patients.
The MCCC shall guarantee the appropriate dispensation of cannabis and shall not release more than the prescribed dosage for one month to a registered qualified patient or designated caregiver. It shall maintain internal confidential record of each entry, which includes information on the date and time the cannabis was dispensed, the amount of cannabis being dispensed and on whether it was dispensed directly to the patient or to the designated caregiver.
A registered MCCC or Medical Cannabis Safety Compliance Facility (MCSCF) shall implement appropriate security measures to deter and prevent the theft of cannabis and unauthorized entrance into areas containing cannabis.
Persons who discriminate against qualified patients and violate confidentiality shall be punished accordingly.
Solid proof
But Senior Deputy Minority Leader Lito Atienza of Buhay Party-list questioned Albano for pushing for the passage of the bill without presenting any solid and thorough research and medical studies.
“The proponents must show definitive proof to back up their claims that marijuana is a medicine. Failure to do so would render this bill inutile and defective. We are all for finding ways to help alleviate the plight of Filipinos suffering from debilitating diseases. But we cannot do so by passing a law that would allow access to a prohibited drug such as marijuana without any extensive medical research to show that this is indeed safe for our patients,” Atienza said.
“Congressman Albano could not show any documents, study or conclusion from any reputable organization and even from the local and US FDA [Food and Drug Administration]—which they have been liberally citing as examples that marijuana is indeed a medicine,” he added.
On the contrary, Atienza argued that the US FDA continues to warn the US Congress against passing any similar bill since there is no proof whatsoever that marijuana is a medicine.
It even endangers the health and mental faculties of young children and pregnant women who use it, the lawmaker said, citing the US FDA.
“All Congressman Albano presented were mere testimonials. But we cannot, in conscience, pass a law that will affect the lives of Filipinos on the basis of mere personal testimonials. They need to present solid proof to back up their claims. All they have done is to cite existing laws in Canada and the United States allowing this,” he stressed.
Atienza said the country’s own medical practitioners, such as those belonging to the Philippine Medical Association led by its President Dr. Ma. Minerva Calimag; the Philippine Psychological Association; and Dr. Tony Leachon of the Manila Doctors Hospital, who is currently the president of the Philippine College of Physicians Foundation, all strongly oppose the bill.
“They have stated that extensive research and clinical studies must first be conducted before they can even consider endorsing this kind of treatment,” Atienza said.
Support vs opposition
For his part, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, in news reports, backed the proposal legalizing the medical use of marijuana.
According to Duque, there are people who qualify to enjoy the benefit of medical marijuana, noting, however, “there must be very narrow applicability and must be strictly regulated.”
He said the health department is continuously conducting consultations to ensure that the proposal is acceptable to all.
Dr. Philip S. Chua, a heart surgeon and chairman of the Filipino United Network (FUN)-USA, expressed opposition on the proposed legislation seeking to authorize the prescription of medical marijuana for a variety of ailments, warning against the high risk of abuse owing to the addictive effects of the illegal drug.
“We currently have enough drug-addiction problems in the Philippines and certainly do not want to add more,” Chua said.
FUN-USA is a humanitarian foundation composed of Filipino-American associations and medical graduates of the Philippines now practicing in the US.
“While as a heart surgeon, I am personally in favor of therapeutic marijuana for those medical cases that do not respond to standard medical care, I feel as you do that this will be abused in our country and turn the Philippines into a zombie nation as you stated. This is already happening in America,” Chua said in a statement of support e-mailed to the office of Atienza.
Filipino lawmakers should vote against the passage of HB 6517, which is “a potentially disastrous bill,” he added.
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The endocannabinoid system, named after the plant that led to its discovery, is perhaps the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health.
Research on the endocannabinoid system..
Suggested searches;
Cannabis, Cancer, Apoptosis, Anti-angiogenesis
Patent 6630507 filed by the United States Department of Health and Human Services related to the application of cannabinoids as neuroprotective agents.
Delta-9 THC removes amyloid-beta protein plaque buildup from brain cell tissue in lab studies.
Nobody can deny the Medical effectiveness of Medical Marijuana.
When a loved one is wasting away unable to eat due to Chemotherapy, AIDS Wasting Syndrome, or Multiple Sclerosis, and needs this marvelous herb in order to increase their appetite, reduce the overwhelming pain, and live as as healthy and happily as they can with the time they have left, let’s have the compassion to allow them to have it.
Stop treating Medical Marijuana Patients like second rate citizens and common criminals by forcing them to the dangerous black market for their medicine.
Risking incarceration to obtain the medicine you need is no way to be forced to live.
Support Medical Marijuana Now!
Below is a small sampling of quotes and a list of just a few of the many Professional Medical Organizations Worldwide that attest to Medical Marijuana’s effectiveness and Support Legal Access to and Use of Medical Marijuana.
Along with the thirty U.S states that have already legalized medical marijuana.
Are they ALL wrong?
“[A] federal policy that prohibits physicians from alleviating suffering by prescribing marijuana for seriously ill patients is misguided, heavy-handed, and inhumane.” — Dr. Jerome Kassirer, “Federal Foolishness and Marijuana,” editorial, New England Journal of Medicine, January 30, 1997
“[The AAFP accepts the use of medical marijuana] under medical supervision and control for specific medical indications.” — American Academy of Family Physicians, 1989, reaffirmed in 2001
“[We] recommend … allow[ing] [marijuana] prescription where medically appropriate.” — National Association for Public Health Policy, November 15, 1998
“Therefore be it resolved that the American Nurses Association will: — Support the right of patients to have safe access to therapeutic marijuana/cannabis under appropriate prescriber supervision.” — American Nurses Association, resolution, 2003
“The National Nurses Society on Addictions urges the federal government to remove marijuana from the Schedule I category immediately, and make it available for physicians to prescribe. NNSA urges the American Nurses’ Association and other health care professional organizations to support patient access to this medicine.” — National Nurses Society on Addictions, May 1, 1995
“[M]arijuana has an extremely wide acute margin of safety for use under medical supervision and cannot cause lethal reactions … [G]reater harm is caused by the legal consequences of its prohibition than possible risks of medicinal use.” — American Public Health Association, Resolution #9513, “Access to Therapeutic Marijuana/Cannabis,” 1995
“When appropriately prescribed and monitored, marijuana/cannabis can provide immeasurable benefits for the health and well-being of our patients … We support state and federal legislation not only to remove criminal penalties associated with medical marijuana, but further to exclude marijuana/cannabis from classification as a Schedule I drug.” — American Academy of HIV Medicine, letter to New York Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, November 11, 2003
International and National Organizations
AIDS Action Council
AIDS Treatment News
American Academy of Family Physicians
American Medical Student Association
American Nurses Association
American Preventive Medical Association
American Public Health Association
American Society of Addiction Medicine
Arthritis Research Campaign (United Kingdom)
Australian Medical Association (New South Wales) Limited
Australian National Task Force on Cannabis
Belgian Ministry of Health
British House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology
British House of Lords Select Committee On Science and Technology (Second Report)
British Medical Association
Canadian AIDS Society
Canadian Special Senate Committee on Illegal Drugs
Dr. Dean Edell (surgeon and nationally syndicated radio host)
French Ministry of Health
Health Canada
Kaiser Permanente
Lymphoma Foundation of America
The Montel Williams MS Foundation
Multiple Sclerosis Society (Canada)
The Multiple Sclerosis Society (United Kingdom)
National Academy of Sciences Institute Of Medicine (IOM)
National Association for Public Health Policy
National Nurses Society on Addictions
Netherlands Ministry of Health
New England Journal of Medicine
New South Wales (Australia) Parliamentary Working Party on the Use of Cannabis for Medical Purposes
Dr. Andrew Weil (nationally recognized professor of internal medicine and founder of the National Integrative Medicine Council)
State and Local Organizations
Alaska Nurses Association
Being Alive: People With HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
California Academy of Family Physicians
California Nurses Association
California Pharmacists Association
Colorado Nurses Association
Connecticut Nurses Association
Florida Governor’s Red Ribbon Panel on AIDS
Florida Medical Association
Hawaii Nurses Association
Illinois Nurses Association
Life Extension Foundation
Medical Society of the State of New York
Mississippi Nurses Association
New Jersey State Nurses Association
New Mexico Medical Society
New Mexico Nurses Association
New York County Medical Society
New York State Nurses Association
North Carolina Nurses Association
Rhode Island Medical Society
Rhode Island State Nurses Association
San Francisco Mayor’s Summit on AIDS and HIV
San Francisco Medical Society
Vermont Medical Marijuana Study Committee
Virginia Nurses Association
Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)
Wisconsin Nurses Association
Additional AIDS Organizations
The following organizations are signatories to a February 17, 1999 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “make marijuana legally available … to people living with AIDS.”
AIDS Action Council
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
AIDS National Interfaith Network (Washington, DC)
AIDS Project Arizona
AIDS Project Los Angeles
Being Alive: People with HIV/AIDS Action Committee (San Diego, CA)
Boulder County AIDS Project (Boulder, CO)
Colorado AIDS Project
Center for AIDS Services (Oakland, CA)
Health Force: Women and Men Against AIDS (New York, NY)
Latino Commission on AIDS
Mobilization Against AIDS (San Francisco, CA)
Mothers Voices to End AIDS (New York, NY)
National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual And Transgender Association
National Native American AIDS Prevention Center
Northwest AIDS Foundation
People of Color Against AIDS Network (Seattle, WA)
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, DC)
Other Health Organizations
The following organizations are signatories to a June 2001 letter to the US Department of Health petitioning the federal government to “allow people suffering from serious illnesses … to apply to the federal government for special permission to use marijuana to treat their symptoms.”
Addiction Treatment Alternatives
AIDS Treatment Initiatives (Atlanta, GA)
American Public Health Association
American Preventive Medical Association
Bay Area Physicians for Human Rights (San Francisco, CA)
California Legislative Council for Older Americans
California Nurses Association
California Pharmacists Association
Embrace Life (Santa Cruz, CA)
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Hawaii Nurses Association
Hepatitis C Action and Advisory Coalition
Life Extension Foundation
Maine AIDS Alliance
Minnesota Nurses Association
Mississippi Nurses Association
National Association of People with AIDS
National Association for Public Health Policy
National Women’s Health Network
Nebraska AIDS Project
New Mexico Nurses Association
New York City AIDS Housing Network
New York State Nurses Association Ohio Patient Network Okaloosa AIDS Support and Information Services (Fort Walton, FL)
Physicians for Social Responsibility – Oregon
San Francisco AIDS Foundation
Virginia Nurses Association
Wisconsin Nurses Association
Health Organizations Supporting Medical Marijuana Research
International and National Organizations
American Cancer Society
American Medical Association
British Medical Journal
California Medical Association
California Society on Addiction Medicine
Congress of Nursing Practice
Gay and Lesbian Medical Association
Jamaican National Commission on Ganja
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Workshop on the Medical Utility of Marijuana
Texas Medical Association
Vermont Medical Society
Wisconsin State Medical Society
It is a medicine, and a not very harmful “drug” in the sense that is is a dryed plant (drug comes from the dutch word for dry). Just like many other dryed plants are consumed for various reasons, e.g. coffee and tea.
Cannabis has been declared an illegal drug in the 1930s, under influence of various interes groups and on the grounds of false information. It is not harmful but only beneficial. It can be medicine, but also just nice to use and consume, like so many other things that taste or feel good.
It is not addictive. There is absolutely no rational grounds to make it illegal, the whole prohibition is based upon lies and particular interests.
In the 70’s there was research that showed the use of marijuana resulted in the death of brain cells. Until now, there has been no research showing that dead brain cells can be brought to life again. Any “good” effect of MJ is seen only on the remaining live brain cells, which eventually will die.
The question now is do we want to have Filipinos going around in malls, driving cars, moving into our neighborhood who are half brain dead? If western researchers say MJ has medicinal effects, let them experiment on their country men first.
Politicians who favor legalizing MJ for medicinal use are firing from their hips, they are just riding on the bandwagon to appear “current and progressive”. But they don’t know everything because those researchers who are in favor of using MJ for medicinal purposes do not expose the bigger danger and risks of MJ. DO NOT EXPERIMENT ON FILIPINOS AND CLAIM MJ HAS MEDICINAL BENEFITS. LET THE EUROPEANS AND AMERICANS EXPERIMENT ON THEIR PEOPLE FIRST. WE DO NOT NEED FILIPINO ZOMBIES.