Palace: Philippines won't yet legalize marijuana

MANILA, Philippines - Marijuana will remain prohibited in the country unlike in some American states where its use has been recently legalized, Malacañang said Friday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said unless Congress amends the law, the use of marijuana won't be legalized soon even for medicinal purposes.

"It's prohibited under the Dangerous Drugs Act. It will remain as such until Congress amends it otherwise," she said at a press briefing.

Valte said it is up to lawmakers if the banned substance will be allowed here.

But for the meantime, local authorities will continue to enforce the laws against illegal drugs.

"As of the moment, the executive department implements the law as it is," Valte said.

The substance was recently legalized in Colorado in the US, where the first recreational marijuana industry opened earlier this week.

Colorado voters in 2012 approved the legal pot industry while another one is set to open in the middle of this year in Washington state.

In December 2013, Uruguay passed a law and became the first nation to regulate marijuana.

Pot advocates have argued that a legal market would generate state income and savings by not having to lock up so many drug offenders.

On the other hand, skeptics worry that the industry will make the drug more widely available to teens, even though legal sales are limited to adults over 21. -with the Associated Press