The Department of Health said Wednesday that there is no full-blown study yet on medical marijuana in the Philippines due to the absence of a law that lists it as a registrable product with the Food and Drug Administration.
Health Undersecretary Eric Domingo made the statement after former President now House Speaker
Gloria M. Arroyo admitted having used medical marijuana while abroad to deal with the pain from her cervical spine problem.
In a press briefing in Malacañang, Domingo said that while several agencies are studying marijuana as an alternative medicine, the government cannot conduct a full-blown clinical study as there is no law which registers it with the FDA.
“We cannot go full blast into studying the actual product kasi it is not listed as registrable product with FDA at this time. Walang batas listing it as a registrable product,” he said. “Hindi rin naman ang gobyerno maaring gumastos ng pera para mag-research sa isang produkto na hindi naman pwedeng irehistro sa Pilipinas,” he added.
“At this time, I think FDA will have to wait for an enabling law that will allow it to be a registrable product before we can actually consider pouring some resources into clinical researches for it,” he continued.
Arroyo admitted that she used medical marijuana as she expressed support to the bill seeking to legalize its use in the Philippines.
Last month, Malacañang said that President Duterte will support any bill that will seek the legalization of medical marijuana.
Talks on the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes resurfaced after Miss Universe Catriona Gray was asked about her opinion on the legalization of the substance during the beauty pageant’s question and answer portion in Bangkok, Thailand last month. (Argyll Geducos)
