Health Secretary Francisco Duque III on Thursday stressed the need for more research before legalizing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“There has to be more studies to back it,” Duque said in an interview on ANC, pointing out these studies should guide lawmakers in deciding whether or not to legalize medical marijuana.
Duque said marijuana could be used for palliative care that could help patients deal with pain, nausea, and vomiting, but should not be considered as “cure.”
“Some physicians are saying for control of seizures, they have evidence to show that this [marijuana] is more effective,” he said.
But Duque said if ever medical marijuana should be legalized, it could not be smoked in its raw form but must be processed and encapsulated.
Duque said there were potential risks. ”Distance perceptions, for instance, can lead to motor vehicular accidents. It can also trigger psychosis like schizophrenia.”
Duque said the Department of Health was not opposed to the use of medical marijuana, but judging from the documents he received, he said this was not the time for its legalization.
“Before I came in, DoH was not opposed to the legalization of the use of marijuana for strictly medical and research purposes,” Duque said
“When I had gotten more documents from credible third parties, UPNIH [University of the Philippine National Institutes Of Health] for example, had given a list why it might not be the time to legalize this even for medical purposes,” he added.
According to Duque, medical marijuana should not be legalized yet due to the scarcity of information about its benefits and risks.