Duterte opposes medical marijuana legalization

May 29, 2018

President Rodrigo Duterte is against the legalization of medical marijuana. Duterte's stance was contrary to his statement in an interview by an international media outfit in October last year when he said he was open to the legalization of medical marijuana if the Food and Drug Administration would certify there was no problem. But in a press briefing on Tuesday in Bontoc, Mountain Province where authorities discovered marijuana plantations in the past, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte was against the legalization of marijuana to be used as medicine. "He knows that there are medicines coming from marijuana but the problem is if he will allow its planting, you cannot control anymore where those planted marijuana will go," Roque explained. Currently, Roque said the priority of the Duterte administration is to fight illegal drugs. "Maybe later on if we have already controlled drugs, we can make a study about it," he said. Roque added farmers in Mountain Province have other crops which could be planted. He warned farmers planting marijuana would lead to life imprisonment. There was a move in Congress to legalize medical marijuana. But it did not prosper. Since he assumed office, Duterte declared an all-out war against illegal drugs. Celerina Monte/DMS