Philippines: Market and legal data analysis of the cannabis sector

28th November 2024: Philippines: The Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) are open to reclassifying cannabis as a less dangerous drug, according to senator Ronald dela Rosa, who is also the proponent of the budget for the two agencies, press reports. However, dela Rosa also said he believed the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, Republic Act 9165, would need to be amended first because under it, cannabis is still classified as a prohibited substance. Further reclassification by the DDB can only proceed if cannabis is not included in the annex of the act, dela Rosa said. He added that the DDB and PDEA are in “full support” of efforts to reclassify cannabis as a low-risk drug.
27th November 2024: Philippines: The primary sponsor of the Cannabis Medicalization Act, senator Robinhood Padilla, said he would work with the Philippine Dangerous Drugs Board and its enforcement arm – the Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency – to bring Philippine law in line with international recommendations on CBD, referencing a 2020 UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs decision, to reclassify CBD to recognise its potential medical value. The bill has been pending its second reading since March 2024. Other bills with similar subjects are also being discussed in Congress.
31st July 2024: Philippines: The House of Representatives has approved the Access to Medical Cannabis Bill in its third and final reading. The bill grants patients access to medical cannabis and creates a Medical Cannabis Office (MCO) under the control of the Department of Health. Regulations and guidelines on cultivation will be issued by the MCO and will be allowed in locked facilities. Dispensing of medical cannabis will only be available through hospitals, drugstores and other medical facilities. The bill will now be sent to the Senate for approval.
11th July 2024: Philippines: Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla of the majority bloc Philippine Democratic Party has filed Senate Bill 2729, which seeks to amend the Vape Law to ban HHC e-cigarettes. The bill also provides that manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and consumers of HHC-containing e-cigarettes will be punished based on the penalties under the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
23rd May 2024: Philippines: On second reading, the House of Representatives has passed the Access to Medical Cannabis Act, which will allow the use of cannabis for medical purposes. The bill stipulates that medical cannabis will only be available on prescription and that a regulatory body within the Ministry of Health will oversee the establishment of a regulatory framework that includes cultivation, production, distribution and prescription. The bill must pass a third reading before being sent to the Senate.
8th February 2024: Philippines: Two House of Representatives committees, the Committee on Dangerous Drugs and the Committee on Health, have jointly approved a bill that would allow cannabis for medical use, press reports. Under the measure, medical cannabis would only be prescribed by doctors to patients with specific medical conditions. Other details were not provided. The bill will undergo final corrections between the committees before being sent to the plenary.
18th December 2023: Philippines: Health secretary Teodoro Herbosa has supported the legalisation of medical cannabis in a forum last Friday (15th December), press reports. "On medical marijuana, my personal position, and I guess now the Department of Health's position, is that we are supportive of bills that will legalise medical use or medical indication of marijuana", he added. However, Herbosa said the agency opposes the use of cannabis for recreational purposes. Some bills are currently being discussed in the parliament to remove cannabis from the list of dangerous drugs and provide easier access to medical cannabis.
26th October 2023: Philippines: House of Representatives member Luis Raymund “L-Ray” Villafuerte, from the minority National Unity Party, has asked Department of Health (DOH) secretary Ted Herbosa to help push for the legalisation of medical cannabis, press reports. The health secretary has backed Villafuerte’s position saying that the DOH is “in favour of the legalisation of medical use of marijuana and its products”. Villafuerte added that with Herbosa’s support he will appeal to the DOH to study the subject and push the issue. Currently, there are several bills in the House of Representatives that seek to legalise medical cannabis, all of which are pending in the Committee on Dangerous Drugs.
2nd August 2023: Philippines: The House of Representatives Health and Dangerous Drugs Committee has agreed to create a joint technical working group to draft measures to legalise the medical use of cannabis. The group will consolidate and discuss existing bills on the subject that aim to remove cannabis from the list of dangerous drugs and provide the right of access to it for medical purposes.
15th May 2023: Philippines: Former president and current member of the House of Representatives Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, from the majority centre-right party Lakas, has filed a bill to legalise the cultivation, importation, production and distribution of medical cannabis. Products would only be accessed by a special medical cannabis dispensary centre. The bill is currently being analysed by the Dangerous Drugs Committee.
21st February 2023: Philippines: Former House speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of the minority Party for Democratic Reform has filed a bill in the House of Representatives to remove cannabis and its derivatives from the list of dangerous drugs and decriminalise its cultivation and possession. The bill is pending in the Dangerous Drugs Committee.
14th December 2022: Philippines: At a hearing on the Medical Cannabis Compassionate Bill, some senators expressed concerns about the legalisation of medical cannabis, arguing that it could lead to abuses of illegal cannabis. However, senator Nancy Binay, of the majority bloc United Nationalist Alliance party, said the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) should draw up a processing system to facilitate access for patients while waiting for Congress to approve a law on legalisation. The bill is currently awaiting approval by the Health Committee.

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