Marijuana policy soap opera in Philippines A few days ago, a member of the Philippine legislature announced he would co-sponsor a bill to allow the production of medical marijuana. Not a big deal, it would seem, except the legislator is also the son of the nation's president. Initial follow-up reports indicated the President was restrained in her response, though clearly against the proposal. The legislator had to deal with another problem too:
Under Republic Act No. 9165 the death penalty is meted on a person found guilty of possessing 500 grams or more of marijuana; life imprisonment for five to 499 grams; and 12 years for less than five grams.
It seems there's a bad attitude toward marijuana in the Philippines. The next day, the legislator heard a bit more from his mother, and got hammered by fellow politicians, even if they didn't have their facts straight:
The two lawmakers not only cautioned the young Arroyo against his move but also thrashed the bill, warning that growing the addictive weed as a cash crop even in strictly policed conditions would be a boon to bigtime illegal drug syndicates.
"Legalize marijuana use and we are one step away from becoming a full-fledged narco-republic," said Zubiri. "We are already No. 2 in shabu use worldwide. Should we aspire to be first in marijuana use, too?"
Yes! Go for it, dude! (Shabu, for those who don't keep up with the changing currents of international drug lingo, is slang for methamphetamine.)
How reliable is all this news coverage? The most recent story on the issue makes one wonder. Under the counterintuitive headline "Farmers say marijuana won't improve lives," a reporter publishes the following claim, supposedly from an anonymous marijuana farmer in the country:
He said many of their farms could no longer grow good vegetables, after they were sprinkled with marijuana seeds that were supplied by marijuana contractors.
"I don't know why this is happening, but if all farmers are allowed to grow marijuana, I don't think we can go back to vegetables anymore," he said.
What does it all mean? I don't know, but I'm going to tune in to the same Philippines web site tomorrow to see the latest developments.
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