Marijuana to Be Legalized in the Phillipines

                     Marijuana to be legalized in the Phillipines

                                      Russkie P. Labininay

University of Southern Phillipines of Science and Technology

INTRODUCTION

Drugs by nature are good. They are used to treat illnesses, help calm down patients with mental disorders or relieve pain and suffering. Illicit use of drugs is the result of greediness in some men to earn money and create chaos and disorder in society. The Dangerous Drugs Board listed three major drugs of abuse in the Philippines. These are methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu”, Cannabis sativa or “marijuana” and inhalants better known as “solvents” (Doria, et. al., 2014).

Cannabis, also known as marijuana, is a preparation plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug and as medicine. These are dried leaves and flowering tops of the pistil hemp plant that yield of trahydrocannabinol (THC) and are smoked in cigarettes for their intoxicating effect. Marijuana has been used for medical purposes since 2700 BC, where ancient Greeks and Egyptians used the weed to treat ailments. It is also believed to be consumed because of its physiological effects. Marijuana can be consumed in many different ways, such as smoking, using vaporizer, brewed as Cannabis tea, or by adding it as an ingredient in food.

In our country today, marijuana is considered illegal. The legalization of marijuana can bring both favourable and unfavourable effects to the society and the environment. Tobacco and alcohol, both illegal in the Philippines, are two of the primary causes of deaths. These have caused 10% and 3.8% of all deaths in the country, respectively. Approximately ten Filipinos die every hour due to tobacco-related diseases. Meanwhile, marijuana which is considered illegal has not caused any death. Not a single death has recorded due to marijuana overdose.

Although marijuana has negative effects on the behaviour, health and safety of individuals who take these, just like any ordinary drug (both legal and illegal), it can still be beneficial to the society in many ways. In the study on marijuana, it proved that it has psychoactive and psychological effects when consumed. Some effects of consuming marijuana are relaxation and the feeling of being “high”, can relieve pain, control nausea, stimulate appetite, increase heart rate, dilate blood vessels, fluctuate blood pressure, decrease short-term memory, result to dry mouth, impair motor skills and can cause reddening of the eyes.

Marijuana has also been proven to treat pain and muscle spasticity. A recent study also concluded that marijuana could help regrow brain cells and could improve memory. Definitely, marijuana has many benefits and can be used for several purposes (Mananquil, 2012).

The church also supports the legalization of marijuana in the Philippines. Despite the fact that the debate surrounding the legislation is still in progress, proponents say that the goal is to legalize and regulate the medical use of cannabis which has been confirmed to have beneficial and therapeutic uses to treat chronic or debilitating disease or medical conditions. All in all, both the use and possession of cannabis are currently illegal in the Philippines and legislation to regulate the medicinal use of marijuana will only apply to certain treatments. All other uses of the plant will remain punishable by law. However, there are other factors at play, such as on the one hand the support of the Church and on the other approval by important political figures such as the former Secretary of Health Enrique Ona himself, who is also a proponent of the new bill.

        However, the recent administration is also in favour of the legalization of marijuana in the Philippines despite of its uncompromising programme to eradicate the use of illegal drugs in the country. Its major concern is the medical use of marijuana that has a lot of positive contribution in medicine.  A proposed house bill number 4477, known as the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Act, which would legalize the use of medical marijuana. This bill was filed in the Philippine Congress to legalize the use of medical marijuana in 2014.  The bill's co-author Rep. Leah Paquiz, a member of the 16th Congress of the Philippines said "We are at this stage, we have Filipinos who need care, we should give them compassionate care - this medical cannabis. There are a lot of medicines, but they are expensive” (Wikipedia).

Statement of the Problem

The research answers the following questions:

1. Why should marijuana be legalized in the Philippines?
2. If it will be legalized, what are the positive and negative effects it can provide to the people?
3. What are the medical benefits that marijuana contributes to the health of every individual?

Review of Related Literature and Studies

Marijuana refers to unpurified plant substances, including leaves or flower tops whether consumed by ingestion or smoking. References to the "effects of marijuana" should be understood to include the composite effects of its various components; that is, the effects of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, are included among its effects, but not all the effects of marijuana are necessarily due to THC (Watson, et. al., 2000).

Marijuana is a product of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa, and is grown worldwide. Marijuana is composed of a mixture of the dried and shredded leaves, stems, seeds, and flowers of the plant. It can be smoked in hand-rolled joints, pipes or bongs or combined with cigar tobacco (blunts). Hashish, or cannabis resin, is collected from the trichomes or hairs of the plants and, after drying, is compressed into cakes, balls, or sheets. It is smoked (by itself or mixed with tobacco) or ingested orally (Repp and Raich, 2014).

Botanically, the genus Cannabis is composed of several variants. Although there has been a long-standing debate among taxonomists about how to classify these variants into species, applied plant breeders generally embrace a biochemical method to classify variants along utilitarian lines. Cannabis is the only plant genus that contains the unique class of molecular compounds called cannabinoids. Many cannabinoids have been identified, but two preponderate: THC, which is the psychoactive ingredient of Cannabis, and CBD, which is an antipsychoactive ingredient. One type of Cannabis is high in the psychoactive cannabinoid, THC, and low in the antipsychoactive cannabinoid, CBD. This type is popularly known as marijuana. Another type is high in CBD and low in THC. Variants of this type are called industrial hemp (West, 1998).