A drug suspect who allegedly used marijuana to fight COVID-19 was arrested in Biñan, Laguna, according to a Unang Hirit report on Monday.
Five kilos of marijuana worth P600,000 were seized from suspect Alaric Bay De Guzman Monsod.
Although Monsod denied that he was selling, he admitted that he was using marijuana as a defense against COVID-19. This is despite the fact that there is no evidence yet that marijuana cures COVID-19.
According to a Reuters report, there are studies that smoking marijuana increases the chance of developing pneumonia or other respiratory infections.
The cultivation and use of cannabis in the Philippines is illegal under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
As the Philippines is a signatory to the 1961 United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, Cannabis is classified as a Schedule I drug, which limits its use to medical and scientific purposes.
Marijuana is the second most used drug in the Philippines, after shabu (methamphetamine), and most cultivation in the country is for local consumption. Cannabis is cultivated mostly in the remote, mountainous regions of Luzon and Mindanao.
Marijuana seized in Angeles City
Last week, more than P2.4 million worth of suspected marijuana was confiscated from 2 men arrested in an anti-illegal drug operation in Angeles City.
Angeles police and local Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) personnel joined forces for the operation, which arrested alias “Ben” and “Mar.”
The 2 suspects, both aged 19, are said to be considered high-value targets. They are also said to be distributors of marijuana in Angeles City.
Authorities seized 2 blocks of suspected dried marijuana leaves with a street value of P2,448,000.00.
In December, Camarines Sur Representative LRay Villafuerte filed a bill to legalize the local production and export of medical marijuana.
Villafuerte called on the health committee to discuss and approve House Bill No. 3961, which aims to expand the utilization of medical marijuana “to make it a lot more accessible and cheaper for Filipinos in need of this revolutionary medicine.”
The United Nations Commission on Narcotics Drugs (UN-CND) voted to “remove cannabis from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs — where it was listed alongside specific deadly, addictive opioids, including heroin, recognized as having little to no therapeutic purposes.”