THE Department of Health (DOH) is calling for a public consultation on the proposed law that aims to legalize the use of medical marijuana in the Philippines.
“That's the beauty of consultation. Many people will be consulted. It will be tweaked to be more applicable to the Philippines,” DOH Secretary Janette Garin said.
The extensive consultation, she said, will help clarify provisions of the bill.
“Before kasi, when this was proposed, there were some questions that were not answered. The intention is very good. But we are also looking at the practicability. Kaya ba siya? Doable ba? Are we prepared for it?” said Garin.
The health chief said the DOH will be doing its own study on the provisions of House Bill 4477, which cited claims that medical marijuana can help treat chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition such as epilepsy.
“We will be reviewing it and we will also be looking at the questions on how it can be safeguarded,” she said.
“There have been clamors by some doctors, especially for those who really need it and especially those that are affected families. Pero meron din mga katanungan on how we are going to police it. Paano hindi maabuso? These are the aspects that we are looking into,” added Garin.
The bill is authored by Isabela Representative Rodolfo Albano III, who admitted in a hearing on the measure earlier this week that he used marijuana when he was in college. (HDT/Sunnex)