Pinoy consulate staff held in SoKor for cannabis oil

MANILA, Philippines — A staff of the Philippine consulate general in New York was recently held in South Korea for questioning after cannabis (marijuana) oil was found in her luggage, sources at the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.

Sources said the staff was requested by a female diplomat whom she worked with at the Consulate General in New York to bring a package to Manila.

The diplomat, a junior officer at the Consulate General recalled to Manila last January, denied she knew what was inside the package sent to her.

Upon learning that one of the staff was scheduled to be recalled home, the diplomat called her up and requested her to bring with her a package for her mother-in-law.

With the package tucked inside her luggage, the staff decided to stay in South Korea for a two-week vacation before going home. 

But the staff was arrested by South Korean authorities for bringing in cannabis oil.

“The staff tried calling the diplomat, but her calls were unanswered,” another source said.

Sources said the staff was held until an “intervention” from the Philippine embassy in Seoul. 

“She is now back home but was under intense questioning by authorities,” the source said. 

Cannabis oil is the concentrated liquid extract of the marijuana plant, cannabis sativa.

According to Medical News Today, people claim that cannabis oil can be used to treat a wide range of conditions, though evidence to back up these claims is often lacking.

People use cannabis oil for conditions ranging from pain to acne; some even claim the oil can cure diseases like Alzheimer’s and cancer. But there is no clinical evidence to support these claims.

New York is one of the states that legalized medical marijuana.

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime 2019 World Drugs Report, the most widely used drug globally continues to be cannabis, with an estimated 188 million people having used the drug in 2017.

In January, the House of Representatives approved on second reading a bill allowing the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

The chamber voted unanimously to pass the Compassionate Medical Cannabis Bill of Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III that would allow the use of medical marijuana for those suffering from debilitating diseases like epilepsy, under strict regulation by the Department of Health and the Food and Drug Administration.