THE Regional Advisory Council (RAC) in the Cordillera have asked the Philippine National Police for the possibility of coordinating with the Department of Health (DOH) to supply samples of marijuana plants and allow the use for medical purposes.

During the Kapihan sa Camp Dangwa, RAC chairman Peter Rey Bautista suggested for the Police Regional Office Cordillera (PRO-COR) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) to look at this possibility for medical research.

“I think the world is changing and apparently, a thing we have known to be dangerous in the past is now considered in many parts of the world to be medicinal in value,” Bautista said.

Medical cannabis, or medical marijuana, is cannabis and cannabinoids that are being recommended by doctors for their patients in some parts of the United States. The use of cannabis as medicine has not been rigorously tested due to production restrictions and other governmental regulations.

Limited evidence suggests cannabis can reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, improve appetite in people with human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, and reduce chronic pain and muscle spasms.

PRO-COR regional director Chief Superintendent Rolando Nana sees the possibility for such suggestion to be doable following consultations with PDEA.

“I do believe there have been some efforts on the study and benefits of medicinal marijuana and like what our RAC Chairman said, there is a pending bill in Congress for its legalization but as to the issue on giving or transfer of the evidence to the DOH, this should be taken a look into because this is the focus of our anti-drug campaign with PDEA,” the General explained.

Marijuana plantations in the region which have undergone continuous eradication by law enforcers have been found in the provinces of Benguet, Mountain Province and Kalinga which is considered as the top producers of the illegal weed in the country.