Legalizing cannabis

Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez paints this scenario: put several people in a room where they are given alcoholic beverages, and another group in a room where marijuana is provided.

Those who get drunk could end up in a brawl, Alvarez said. Those who get high on cannabis, on the other hand, could end up happily hugging each other.

This is Alvarez’s way of dispelling concerns that cannabis use can engender violence and criminal behavior. That risk is higher, he argues, for alcohol, which is also documented to cause dependence that can be tough to eliminate.

Alvarez has filed House Bill 6783, seeking to delist marijuana (including cannabis derivatives) as a prohibited drug. The delisting effectively means the full legalization of marijuana – its cultivation, use, sale and processing, for both medical and recreational use.

His sweetener for the government is the revenue that can be earned from full legalization. Colorado, which legalized marijuana in 2014, collected $423 million in taxes from the industry in 2021 alone, Alvarez said; the total tax take since 2014 has exceeded a billion dollars.

Addressing the concerns raised by health advocates, Alvarez points out that cigarettes, vapes and alcohol have been documented to be harmful to health and addictive, so why are they legal? Some vape cartridges even contain cannabis oil, which landed US basketball star Brittney Griner in a Russian prison last year. Griner was freed last December as part of a prisoner swap.

In the case of cannabis, health experts point out that marijuana smoke contains the same toxic and carcinogenic components that can damage the lungs like other smoked substances such as cigarettes.

A new study to be presented next month in the US links daily cannabis use to increased risk of developing coronary artery disease. Other medical publications have linked regular marijuana use to arrhythmia, fast heartbeat and the heart rhythm disorder called atrial fibrillation.

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Unlike tobacco, however, which scientific research has established causes cancer particularly of the lungs and throat, more research is needed on the links between smoking marijuana and cancer.

Instead studies and patient testimonies have shown that marijuana can ease chronic pain including cancer pain as well as nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy.

Such beneficial effects paved the way for the legalization of marijuana initially for medical use, with California becoming the first to do so in 1996. It was later expanded to recreational use in nearly half of all US states plus the capital Washington DC.

Marijuana is currently fully legalized in Canada, Georgia, Malta, Mexico, South Africa and Uruguay. In Asia, Thailand became the first country to legalize marijuana, for medical and culinary use, in June 2022. Proponents will likely say Thailand’s decriminalization of cannabis has added to the country’s tourism appeal.

Proponents of legalization also cite the serious corruption engendered by the classification of a particular substance as a prohibited or regulated drug. Mindful of this aspect of the drug scourge, some countries have been experimenting with the decriminalization of drug possession, with drug abuse regarded mainly as a health problem.

Alvarez is not going so far as to push for the delisting of cocaine and its poor man’s version, methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, as prohibited drugs in the Philippines. Rodrigo Duterte wasn’t entirely off the mark when he warned that battery acid is used in producing shabu and it fries your brain.

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa, architect of the brutal Oplan Tokhang launched by his bossing Duterte against illegal drugs, has admitted that he smoked marijuana twice when he was a college student at Mindanao State University.

What was it like? Senator Bato told reporters his eyes became bloodshot and he had a strong urge to keep singing folk songs (Neil Young’s “Four Strong Winds” was a favorite) because of marijuana’s “good vibes.”

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Interviewing Alvarez on One News’ “The Chiefs” recently, we forgot to ask him if he ever tried smoking pot. My guess is he has, or he wouldn’t be touting its benefits.

In my teenage years, we were warned that marijuana caused bad breath, lowered sperm count and ruined chromosomes. I think lower sperm count and bad breath were bigger concerns for youths. I tried it just for the experience and was unimpressed; I have an aversion to smoke and anything that affects the pulmonary system.

A long-running concern is that marijuana is a gateway to stronger and addictive drugs like shabu, as dopeheads seek greater highs. The counter-argument is that those interested in experimenting with shabu or Ecstasy will do so anyway, with or without a gateway drug.

Proponents point out another positive consequence of legalizing marijuana: it can help decongest the country’s jails, which are packed with suspects arrested for possession mostly of either shabu or cannabis.

The proposal of Alvarez will have to hurdle the super majority in Congress. Having supported the presidential bid of former senator Panfilo Lacson, this won’t be a simple mission for Alvarez.

If the proposal hurdles Congress, it will need the final approval of boomer Bongbong Marcos. BBM was widely believed to be the unnamed candidate Duterte had dissed during last year’s campaign as a cocaine-using weakling with the gall to seek the presidency. (You wonder why the alleged cokehead was left untouched by Tokhang and Double Barrel.) If BBM goes along with full marijuana legalization, it could be seen as a validation of Duterte’s accusation.

Concerns regarding marijuana legalization – such as banning its access to minors – can be addressed through the implementing rules and regulations, Alvarez says.

If his bill fails to hurdle Congress, he has at least started a conversation on new ways of dealing with the drug problem. Certainly, it’s far better than mass extermination of drug suspects.