News

Philippines Senator Sotto slams 'backdoor move' to legalise marijuana

12 June 2014

Senator Vicente Sotto III on Sunday slammed a move in the House of the Representatives to legalize marijuana “for medical use,” calling it a backdoor move to legalize an illegal drug that will open the door to abuse among the youth.

Instead of patients benefiting from its medical use – primarily as a pain killer for patients with severely painful chronic ailments or with terminal diseases like cancer - the biggest winners would be the drug syndicates which are already making a killing from this illegal drug, Sotto said.

A Bill has been filed in Congress seeking to legalize marijuana use for medical purposes, citing studies abroad of its beneficial effects. The Bill seeks to create a regulatory body under the Department of Health that will oversee the use of cannabis for medical purposes. The move is gaining traction among lawmakers who favor of marijuana use for treatment of debilitating diseases.

But Sotto sees a far greater societal damage if marijuana is allowed even under the guise of medical use. “This is a big business for drug traffickers and if we legalize marijuana this will become a bigger business for them,” Sotto added.

Warning of a national disaster, Sotto said the immediate victims are the impressionable youth who may find that smoking pot is just as acceptable.

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