President Rodrigo Duterte made a sudden double back in his decision to legalize marijuana, saying he would no longer support its legalization for medical purposes.
The President made the announcement during the PDP-Laban campaign rally in Negros Occidental, where Duterte told the audience he would not allow the cultivation of marijuana in the country.
He said legalizing cannabis for medical use would be used as an excuse to cultivate the plant.
READ: Pro-medical marijuana solons hit
“That would be an excuse. I did not agree. Not in my time, not in my time,” Duterte said.
The President admitted he was “ignorant” about research regarding the supposed medicinal properties of marijuana despite previously saying this was already an “ingredient of modern medicine.”
This is in contrast to his previous stand on the legalization of marijuana for medical use.
READ: House majority okays medical marijuana bill
Late last year, Malacañang said Duterte would sign any bill that would legalize it.
In his speech in Negros Occidental, Duterte said: “You must remember that heroin, cocaine, and the derivatives are products of opium poppy plant. It takes time to be absorbed, if at all. You get crazy. That’s a plant. Marijuana. They are cultivated.”
Duterte said considering marijuana as a medicinal drug was equivalent to condoning wrongdoings.
“I am ignorant of that kind of research, I must admit. And I do not read it and I do not intend to legalize it. I do not want to. Legalization would be used as an excuse. People might cultivate it and say it is for medicinal purposes,” he said.
“They say it’s medicinal. Suddenly, everything will become medicinal. That would be an excuse,” Duterte said. With PNA
