Amid Genocide of Drug Dealers, The Philippines Will Legalize Medicinal Marijuana

Nanette Castillo grieves next to the dead body of her son Aldrin, an alleged drug user killed by unidentified assailants, in Manila on October 3, 2017.
Philippines police officers who want to speak out about “extrajudicial killings and summary executions” in President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war have been offered sanctuary and legal help by the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church, which counts 80 percent of Filipinos as followers, has been one of the leading critics of the drug war and its offer to police on Monday was another step in its efforts to stop the killings. / AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS (Photo credit should read NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images)

There are few places in the world where it is more dangerous to be a recreational cannabis connoisseur than the Philippines. The country’s President, Rodrigo Duterte, has built an international reputation on his violently tough on drugs policies and has even received condemnation from the UN. So it comes as somewhat of a surprise that Filipinos could also become the first in their region to legalize medical marijuana.

That’s right, the scariest place on earth to spark up could soon allow its citizens to access the medical alternative that’s gaining notoriety around the world.

In early March of 2017, the government of the Philippines voted to introduce a bill for medical marijuana legalization just one day after the death penalty was reinstated for drug-related offenses.

Rep. Rodolfo Albano III authored the bill known by the number identifier 180. Contrary to what many international observers may believe, Albano claims that the country’s recently elected president could help to give citizens the medicine they need.

“I have high hopes under the Duterte administration that this measure would be enacted into law.” Albano told PhilStar “Finally, there is hope for our people, especially our children, who suffer from medical conditions like epilepsy, cancer, and multiple sclerosis.”

It’s a sense of optimism that’s is understandably surprising when you consider Duterte’s record in the Philippines. The president was elected in 2016 on a promise to combat dealers and consumers alike in the most violent of ways. Since launching his war on drugs at the beginning of 2017, more than 7,000 people have been killed without ever being brought to trial.

According to Human Rights Watch, 3,116 of those deaths have been at the hands of police while the rest are claimed to be committed by, “unidentified gunmen” and security forces. The police and government insist that these deaths are the result of turf wars between rival drug lords while critics claim that the government is encouraging vigilante justice by turning a blind eye.

As of March, trafficking in illegal substances can land you a death sentence for the first time since Filipinos abolished capital punishment in 2006, while simple possession is punishable by life in prison.

But while the government’s war on drugs has marijuana consumers trapped in a chaotic mess, the main focus of law enforcement seems to be shabu, the local term for methamphetamine. According to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s most recent report from 2015, shabu accounts for 95 percent of drug arrests.

With such a high focus on a single substance, cannabis has been given a chance to escape Duterte’s grip. In fact, the President has even expressed his support for its medical application citing recent studies that prove its usefulness.

“Medicinal marijuana, yes,” Duterte once told reporters on the campaign trail, “Because it is really an ingredient of modern medicine now. There are drugs right now being developed or already in the market that [have] marijuana as a component.”

However, there is a limit to Duterte’s enthusiasm for that miracle leaf, as he goes on to threaten anyone who would dare to consume it for its recreational benefits.

GettyImages 857019100 copy The Black Caucus Chair Wrote This Letter To Trump About The Second Failed War On Drugs — MANILA, PHILIPPINES – JUNE 26: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Alternate crop of #805532162) Police investigators inspect the body of John Estrella, 18, who was allegedly killed by unidentified assailants on June 26, 2017 in Manila, Philippines. As with thousand others who died in connection with the government’s campaign against drugs, the lifeless body of Estrella was allegedly found by policemen in a dark street with a pistol and sachets of illegal drugs in his body. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte marked one year in power on June 30 with over 7,000 people killed, mostly poor slum-dwellers, and 80,000 arrested during his brutal war on drugs. The former mayor began his presidency with a murderous war against drugs which brought overseas criticism for letting police shoot to kill on drug raids, but Duterte’s popularity remains high among the Filipinos for getting things done with a call for crackdowns at any cost. According to reports, government officials have said that crime has dropped and future generations of Filipinos are being protected from the scourge of drugs during his anti-drug campaign. Duterte declared martial law on the island of Mindanao since May after militants inspired by Islamic State stormed Marawi City and his image as a law-and-order president was quickly dented due to the army’s failure to retake the city but despite that, the tough-talking 72-year-old’s colloquial, shoot-from-the-hip style of communication still appears to be politically bullet-proof. (Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images)

“If you just smoke [marijuana] like a cigarette,” Duterte says “I will not allow it, ever. It remains to be a prohibited item, and there’s always a threat of being arrested. If you choose to fight the law enforcement agency, you die.”

The government has yet to approve Bill 180, but its main provisions outline that it is only to be used for medical purposes. It even goes as far as to specify the illnesses for which medical cannabis would be permitted including cachexia, severe pain, severe nausea, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

Patients will be issued medical cards if they qualify for treatment, while others will be allowed a license to create Medical Cannabis Compassionate Centers which will be permitted to grow, transport and distribute medicinal marijuana in the Philippines.