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CANNABIS, also known as marijuana, is still classified as a dangerous and illegal drug under Philippine law, government anti-drug agencies clarified Thursday.
The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said the reclassification of cannabis or marijuana by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has limited implications in the Philippines.
The UN body removed cannabis from Annex 4 of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (the “Convention”).
Both agencies said the decision has limited implications “for our drug control policies and actions.”
“As the DDB previously indicated, the decision will not have an immediate impact in terms of drug control,” both agencies said in a joint statement.
They said that cannabis is still classified as a dangerous drug under the Republic Law 9165 or the “Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Law of 2002.”
“The unauthorized import, sale, possession, cultivation and use of cannabis remain punishable by law,” they said.
The government will continue to have relative jurisdiction “to classify and regulate cannabis at the national level,” they said.
Despite the removal of marijuana from Annex 4 of the international drug control convention, it is still a “dangerous drug” under Annex 1, they added.
They said the removal of Annex 4 from marijuana means that the UN CND recognizes that it may have “potential therapeutic or medicinal value.”
“The Convention limits exclusively to medical and scientific purposes the production, manufacture, export, import, distribution, trade, use and possession of substances in Schedule 1,” they said.
In addition, medical preparations or cannabis products, however, must still acquire and comply with the regulatory control requirements of the PDEA, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and other government agencies.
The PDEA assured that it will continue to enforce the law “and urging the public to comply with it.”
“Through this clarification, the DDB and PDEA hope that the reclassification of cannabis by the UN CND will not send the wrong message to the public, especially young people, that it is safe and legal for recreational use.” they said.
The agencies said marijuana continues to be regulated because it is “highly addictive and has negative health, social and legal consequences.”
Additionally, both the DDB and PDEA said that government agencies “will stand firm in implementing measures to prevent the cultivation, possession, use, sale, administration, dispensation, delivery, distribution and transportation of cannabis and other dangerous drugs as provided by law “.
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