Doctors warn of potential risk, but the FDA chief is receptive to medical marijuana.

Samuel Zacate, the head of the FDA, stated that he was open to medical marijuana use, but medical professionals cautioned that it might put Filipinos at unnecessary risk. A panel of the House of Representatives passed a bill legalizing marijuana but keeping it on the list of hazardous drugs.

"Filipinos must have a wide range of therapeutic indications or drugs of choice. So ako for the record [...] is very much open for marijuana as long as it has been streamlined and does not pose harm to the public," Zacate said.

Zacate added that while he is open to the idea of medical marijuana, it is still "subject to the wisdom of the legislative [branch]."

As per the existing legislation, hospitals can be granted compassionate special permissions by the FDA to use unregistered medical items, which includes processed medical cannabis.

The ingredient in marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), "has proven medical benefits in particular formulations," according to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Patients receiving chemotherapy, those with AIDS-related wasting syndrome, and those with multiple sclerosis-related neuropathic pain are all prescribed these drugs.

The Philippine Medical Association (PMA) has argued that there are more negative impacts of legalizing cannabis for recreational use than positive ones. The PMA contends that cannabis is a harmful drug when taken recreationally and for unproven medicinal purposes. They also alert young people to the substance's possible detrimental effects on brain development and their greater susceptibility to developing a drug dependence. The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 still classifies marijuana as a forbidden drug, therefore the proposed legislation would not legalize it, according to Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, the chair of the House's dangerous drugs committee.

Via philstar