House bills allowing use of marijuana for medicinal purposes up for committee approval

Bills seeking to allow the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes have been consolidated for the approval of the House committee on dangerous drugs, Leyte Representative Richard Gomez said Friday.

Gomez, committee vice chairperson, was referring to House Bill 6783 which seeks to amend Sections  3.J, 11, and 16 of the 2002 Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

“I’m glad that the Technical Working Group (TWG) already consolidated bills for the medical cannabis bill,” Gomez said.

“This bill has a Senate counterpart, and hopefully our version will resemble that of the Senate,” he added.

During the House public hearings on the proposed bill, the Department of Health has suggested that cannabis should be in pharmaceutical form, not its plant form, to ensure that it is safe.

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa earlier said that he was in favor of the use of marijuana for medical purposes

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, one of the authors of the measure, also earlier said that studies have shown that marijuana is effective in helping treat a variety of medical conditions, including cancer, chronic pain, and anxiety, as well as helps improve appetite and sleep quality for people who are suffering from certain medical conditions.

“My proposal is we apply the rules on alcoholic beverages, softdrinks, even cigarettes which are all bad for health. Maybe the same guidelines [on these products] should be applied on marijuana,” he said.

“This would protect consumers from potentially harmful counterfeit products, some laced with other drugs classified as dangerous. As for revenues generated, taxes collected could be used for social programs: housing, schools, hospitals, roads, bridges, and markets,” Alvarez added.—Llanesca Panti/AOL, GMA Integrated News