Why is Marijuana ILLEGAL in the Philippines?

[emow]

its not double standard, since our society is not yet ready for across the board... natulog ka dong? wa ka kita sa imo palibot? and you expect that it should be across the board... dont use the argument of other country kay dili ta taga didto... itawn dong be relevant on what is happening in this country and this country alone, so what if muricans want to legalize it... again they are more discipline that we are, they have more effective law enforcement that we have, they have effective justice system that we have... tan-awa usa ang sitwasyon sa usa ka lugar before you call for change.. and uses other country as reason to change that place... isn't thats what the muricans did? exporting democracy? samethinf with the chinks, exporting communisn.... can you atleast make an argument that is more relevant diri sa atoa and not base from other country and some whachamacallit?

you are too americanize thats makes u sound like a muricans...

oh please, spare me from bullsh!t. so long as alcohol and tobacco remains legal and regulated, your argument holds no water. their Law enforcement people are even saying end the prohibition to ALL drugs. it just doesnt work. Americans are too irresponsible, so says the American Prohibitionists. the arguments against cannabis are the same anywhere. the defense are likewise the same.

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Kung ma legalize, ang ako ma imagine kay basin mao nalang ni ato makit-an nga tamnon, imbis humay, mais, utanon ug uban pa. Kini pay imo hasulan nga halin kaayo unya less maintenance pagtanum... Kini nalang pud unya ang ato lung-agon, utanon, kilawon ug uban pa...

early american diet included cannabis granula... most of their agri product was cannabis based... they used it in construction, in lighting as oil, in navy, as ropes, as clothes, as paper, as TAX payment, etc...in fact, in WW2,most farmers were ordered to grow cannabis by US government...but your fear will not come true, the market will fill any demand from any crop...sans government meddling of course.

[emow]

Understanding The Differences Between Hemp and Cannabis

this is pretty good explanation. most people just think all cannabis are all equal. they can be bred into different variants that can contain variable concentrations of THC and CBD, like the non psychoactive Charlottes Web variant. We can only do this if we legalize cannabis then regulate it. No meaningful research can be done if the prohinition stays, not many are brave to face possible prosecution.

[emow]

i think it is feasible to have a regulation on THC concentrations, what is the minimum amount to effect maximum therapeutic level per disease, what is the minimum concentration safe for recreational use, what is the safe amount for pediatric patient. licensing should be balance to attract investors for dispensaries to maintain market competition to avoid monopolies. This would be a good small step forward.

[emow]

this is part of the ruling Justice Young gave in favor of rescheduling cannabis from I to II.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Drug Enforcement Administration _______________________________________ ) In The Matter Of ) ) Docket No. 86-22 MARIJUANA RESCHEDULING PETITION ) _______________________________________) OPINION AND RECOMMENDED RULING, FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND DECISION OF Administrative LAW JUDGE. FRANCIS L. YOUNG, Administrative Law Judge DATED: SEP 6 1988
FRANCIS L. YOUNG, Administrative Law Judge

........................

Part VIII. ACCEPTED SAFETY FOR USE UNDER MEDICAL SUPERVISION With respect to whether or not there is "a lack of accepted safety for use of [marijuana] under medical supervision", the record shows the following facts to be uncontroverted. Findings of Fact
Point 3. The most obvious concern when dealing with drug safety is the possibility of lethal effects. Can the drug cause death?

4. Nearly all medicines have toxic, potentially lethal effects. But marijuana is not such a substance. There is no record in the extensive medical literature describing a proven, documented cannabis-induced fatality.

5. This is a remarkable statement. First, the record on marijuana encompasses 5,000 years of human experience. Second, marijuana is now used daily by enormous numbers of people throughout the world. Estimates suggest that from twenty million to fifty million Americans routinely, albeit illegally, smoke marijuana without the benefit of direct medical supervision. Yet, despite this long history of use and the extraordinarily high numbers of social smokers, there are simply no credible medical reports to suggest that consuming marijuana has caused a single death.

6. By contrast aspirin, a commonly used, over-the-counter medicine, causes hundreds of deaths each year.

7. Drugs used in medicine are routinely given what is called an LD-50. The LD-50 rating indicates at what dosage fifty percent of test animals receiving a drug will die as a result of drug induced toxicity. A number of researchers have attempted to determine marijuana's LD-50 rating in test animals, without success. Simply stated, researchers have been unable to give animals enough marijuana to induce death.

8. At present it is estimated that marijuana's LD-50 is around

1:20,000 or 1:40,000. In layman terms this means that in order to induce death a marijuana smoker would have to consume 20,000 to 40,000 times as much marijuana as is contained in onemarijuana cigarette. NIDA-supplied marijuana cigarettes weigh approximately .9 grams. A smoker would theoretically have to consume nearly 1,500 pounds of marijuana within about fifteen minutes to induce a lethal response.

9. In practical terms, marijuana cannot induce a lethal response as a result of drug-related toxicity.

10. Another common medical way to determine drug safety is called the therapeutic ratio. This ratio defines the difference between a therapeutically effective dose and a dose which is capable of inducing adverse effects.

11. A commonly used over-the-counter product like aspirin has a therapeutic ratio of around 1:20. Two aspirins are the recommended dose for adult patients. Twenty times this dose, forty aspirins, may cause a lethal reaction in some patients, and will almost certainly cause gross injury to the digestive system, including extensive internal bleeding.

12. The therapeutic ratio for prescribed drugs is commonly around 1:10 or lower. Valium, a commonly used prescriptive drug, may cause very serious biological damage if patients use ten times the recommended (therapeutic) dose.

13. There are, of course, prescriptive drugs which have much lower therapeutic ratios. Many of the drugs used to treat patients with cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis are highly toxic. The therapeutic ratio of some of the drugs used in antineoplastic therapies, for example, are regarded as extremely toxic poisons with therapeutic ratios that may fall below 1:1.5. These drugs also have very low LD-50 ratios and can result in toxic, even lethal reactions, while being properly employed.



14. By contrast, marijuana's therapeutic ratio, like its LD-50, is impossible to quantify because it is so high.

15. In strict medical terms marijuana is far safer than many foods we commonly consume. For example, eating ten raw potatoes can result in a toxic response. By comparison, it is physically impossible to eat enough marijuana to induce death.

16. Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man. By any measure of rational analysis marijuana can be safely used within a supervised routine of medical care."

Judge Francis Young rules marijuana is safe, 1988, DEA, USA
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for the cannabis is more dangerous than alcohol and smoking argument, hope this settles it.

John L. Kane, Jr., Senior Judge of the US Courts for the District of Colorado, wrote in an opinion editorial printed Apr. 27, 2002 in the Rocky Mountain News:

"In this darkest of comedies, the government hasn't the slightest notion what message our children are presently receiving. Perhaps we should send a message to our children about the causes of death in the United States.
We would have to tell them that tobacco is legal and, at 430,700 deaths per year, is the leading cause of substance-abuse deaths; that alcohol is legal and 110,600 die from it each year; that adverse reactions to legal prescription drugs cause 32,000 fatalities a year; that 30,500 commit suicide; 18,000 are homicide victims; and that 7,600 people die each year from taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin.
Of course, we don't want to send them the wrong message that the total number of deaths caused by marijuana is zero."

[salbahis]

and here we go again... dong emow... cut the crap stop insisting on something that is not even relevant sa pinas... you're just making a clown out of what your doing...

[bleedingboi]

WAKE UP PEOPLE, THIS IS THE 21ST CENTURY!!! We need to put these drug cartels out of business and let the government fund and gain income from agricultural projects for Marijuana, as what happened in one of the poorest countries in South America- Uruguay. Legalize Cannabis as soon as possible.

Anyone who keeps scaremongering negatives like "the Filipinos are less disciplined", "there will be more addicts", "people will get brainwashed", and other non-sensical garbage rebuttals can grab a plane ticket to 50 or more countries with legalized status on MJ, stay there for a 100 days then write the feedback here. Tell us if you see hoards of brainwashed junkies walking in the streets, I can even bet my paycheck if you do see one.

[emow]

and here we go again... dong emow... cut the crap stop insisting on something that is not even relevant sa pinas... you're just making a clown out of what your doing...

I was hoping there was anything of substance in your reply...but go ahead, stay there in bull$hit mountain, where the air causes you to be selectively blind, and the abundance of red herrings from its nearby waters causes you to be content in stupidity.... Still, i respect your non-argument, for being just human despite of the low level of thought you have displayed in previous instances. All aspects of Philippine society have been refering to other countries examples ever since we knew we were not alone in this world. From RH issue, to child rearing, to Supreme Court rulings, we have in one way or another referred on studies, laws, models, etc... as basis from other countries not limited to USA..

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Sanjay Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, wrote the following in a Nov. 6, 2006 article titled "Why I Would Vote No on Pot," published in TIME magazine:
"Maybe it's because I was born a couple of months after Woodstock and wasn't around when marijuana was as common as iPods are today, but I'm constantly amazed that after all these years -- and all the wars on drugs and all the public-service announcements -- nearly 15 million Americans still use marijuana at least once a month...

Marijuana isn't really very good for you. True, there are health benefits for some patients. Several recent studies, including a new one from the Scripps Research Institute, show that THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for the high, can help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (In fact, it seems to block the formation of disease-causing plaques better than several mainstream drugs.) Other studies have shown THC to be a very effective antinausea treatment for people -- cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example -- for whom conventional medications aren't working. And medical cannabis has shown promise relieving pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients...

Frequent marijuana use can seriously affect your short-term memory. It can impair your cognitive ability (why do you think people call it dope?) and lead to long-lasting depression or anxiety. While many people smoke marijuana to relax, it can have the opposite effect on frequent users. And smoking anything, whether it's tobacco or marijuana, can seriously damage your lung tissue...

Despite all the talk about the medical benefits of marijuana, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good."

*take note of the name and year.

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Sanjay Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, wrote the following in a Nov. 6, 2006 article titled "Why I Would Vote No on Pot," published in TIME magazine:
"Maybe it's because I was born a couple of months after Woodstock and wasn't around when marijuana was as common as iPods are today, but I'm constantly amazed that after all these years -- and all the wars on drugs and all the public-service announcements -- nearly 15 million Americans still use marijuana at least once a month...

Marijuana isn't really very good for you. True, there are health benefits for some patients. Several recent studies, including a new one from the Scripps Research Institute, show that THC, the chemical in marijuana responsible for the high, can help slow the progress of Alzheimer's disease. (In fact, it seems to block the formation of disease-causing plaques better than several mainstream drugs.) Other studies have shown THC to be a very effective antinausea treatment for people -- cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example -- for whom conventional medications aren't working. And medical cannabis has shown promise relieving pain in patients with multiple sclerosis and reducing intraocular pressure in glaucoma patients...

Frequent marijuana use can seriously affect your short-term memory. It can impair your cognitive ability (why do you think people call it dope?) and lead to long-lasting depression or anxiety. While many people smoke marijuana to relax, it can have the opposite effect on frequent users. And smoking anything, whether it's tobacco or marijuana, can seriously damage your lung tissue...

Despite all the talk about the medical benefits of marijuana, smoking the stuff is not going to do your health any good."

*take note of the name and year.

[Brownman_politiks]

ayaw na lang ta ani oi.

dunay substance sa marijuana nga maka ayo, then duna pod nga di maka ayo. so ang maayong buhaton na lang ani is e extract ra tong maka ayo then buhaton og tambal.

but don't legalize the dried product in the market kay delikado sa aboso.

tanawa ra gud ning alcohol unsay epekto ...

basaha ni akong gi copy and paste...


Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes.1 The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $59 billion.2

Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving

How big is the problem?
In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
Of the 1,149 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2013, 200 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
Of the 200 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2013, over half (121) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That's one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.5
Top of Page

Who is most at risk?
Young people:

At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people.6
Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08 % or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2013, one out of every 3 were between 21 and 24 years of age (33%). The next two largest groups were ages 25 to 34 (29%) and 35 to 44 (24%).1
Motorcyclists:

Among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes in 2013, 27% had BACs of 0.08% or greater.1
Nearly half of the alcohol-impaired motorcyclists killed each year are age 40 or older, and motorcyclists ages 40-44 have the highest percentage of deaths with BACs of 0.08% or greater (44%).7
Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions:

Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were six times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol in their system. (6% and 1%, respectively).1

[emow]

ayaw na lang ta ani oi.

dunay substance sa marijuana nga maka ayo, then duna pod nga di maka ayo. so ang maayong buhaton na lang ani is e extract ra tong maka ayo then buhaton og tambal.

but don't legalize the dried product in the market kay delikado sa aboso.

tanawa ra gud ning alcohol unsay epekto ...

basaha ni akong gi copy and paste...


Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 51 minutes.1 The annual cost of alcohol-related crashes totals more than $59 billion.2

Thankfully, there are effective measures that can help prevent injuries and deaths from alcohol-impaired driving

How big is the problem?
In 2013, 10,076 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
Of the 1,149 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2013, 200 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
Of the 200 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2013, over half (121) were riding in the vehicle with the alcohol-impaired driver.1
In 2010, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.3 That's one percent of the 112 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.4
Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are often used in combination with alcohol.5
Top of Page

Who is most at risk?
Young people:

At all levels of blood alcohol concentration (BAC), the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people.6
Among drivers with BAC levels of 0.08 % or higher involved in fatal crashes in 2013, one out of every 3 were between 21 and 24 years of age (33%). The next two largest groups were ages 25 to 34 (29%) and 35 to 44 (24%).1
Motorcyclists:

Among motorcyclists killed in fatal crashes in 2013, 27% had BACs of 0.08% or greater.1
Nearly half of the alcohol-impaired motorcyclists killed each year are age 40 or older, and motorcyclists ages 40-44 have the highest percentage of deaths with BACs of 0.08% or greater (44%).7
Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions:

Drivers with a BAC of 0.08% or higher involved in fatal crashes were six times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers with no alcohol in their system. (6% and 1%, respectively).1

@salbahis.... see. This proves my point that we refer to other countries studies. heck, my medical education was in majority based on American literature. Psychology exposure was in Vicente Sotto, using American based approach. Enough said, grandfather. Jerk it off.

@poster, good case on alcohol being more dangerous than cannabis. Dr. Grinspoon of Harvard Psychiatary acknowledges the addictive tendency of cannabis, whose severe withdrawal symtpoms would be about equal to that of caffeine addiction only. no records can be found anywhere in the world for more than 10,000 years of, that a single man has died from using cannabis. Lethal Dose of Cannabis, as documented by Judge Young's 1988 ruling against his own DEA agency, is smoking 1,500 pounds of cannabis in 15 minutes, only then can we expect a slight hint if it is even deadly.

[emow]

take note of the name and date. this article sparked the cannabis discussion on mainstream two years ago. this is a vindication of what pro cannabis groups have said.

Sanjay Gupta, MD, Chief Medical Correspondent for CNN, wrote the following in an Aug. 8, 2013 article titled "Why I Changed My Mind on Weed," published on CNN.com:
"...I had steadily reviewed the scientific literature on medical marijuana from the United States and thought it was fairly unimpressive. Reading these papers five years ago, it was hard to make a case for medicinal marijuana. I even wrote about this in a TIME magazine article, back in 2009, titled 'Why I would Vote No on Pot.'
Well, I am here to apologize.
I apologize because I didn't look hard enough, until now. I didn't look far enough. I didn't review papers from smaller labs in other countries doing some remarkable research, and I was too dismissive of the loud chorus of legitimate patients whose symptoms improved on cannabis...
I mistakenly believed the Drug Enforcement Agency listed marijuana as a schedule 1 substance because of sound scientific proof. Surely, they must have quality reasoning as to why marijuana is in the category of the most dangerous drugs that have 'no accepted medicinal use and a high potential for abuse.'
They didn't have the science to support that claim, and I now know that when it comes to marijuana neither of those things are true. It doesn't have a high potential for abuse, and there are very legitimate medical applications. In fact, sometimes marijuana is the only thing that works...
We have been terribly and systematically misled for nearly 70 years in the United States, and I apologize for my own role in that."

[ Prior to Dr. Gupta's prostatement on Aug. 8, 2013, he expressed a con position as indicated in his Nov. 6, 2006 statement in the opposite column. See post above]