DEBATE in PHILOSOPHY

GROUP 3 “PRO”

TOPIC: “LEGALIZATION OF MARIJUANA IN THE PHILIPPINES”

RESEARCH OUTLINE

“Legalization of Marijuana in the Philippines to advance in medical research and benefit

agricultural state of the country”

I. The Use of Marijuana for Medicinal Purposes in the Philippines.

A. Invalidity of Marijuana being classified as a Schedule I drug.

1.To define the category given to Marijuana.

2. Marijuana compared to other Schedule I Drugs such as heroin.

3.How Marijuana has advanced in medical research and have a low potential for abuse.

B. Marijuana’s Medical Qualities Researched by Different Organizations.

1. According to Dr. Luis E. Segura, Dr. Christine M. Mauro, and Dr. Natalie S. Levy Cannabis
sativa, the most widely used illicit substance in Canada, has a unique ability to facilitate
relaxation and relieve anxiety while reducing pain.

2. According to Dr. Peter Grinspoon marijuana appears to ease the pain of multiple sclerosis,
and nerve pain in general.

3. According to Dr. Amy E. Thompson marijuana can be used to treat severe or chronic pain
and severe or persistent muscle spasms.

C. Examples of Countries that legalize usage of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

1.Canada

It is the largest country that legalized weed nationwide and medical marijuana was lawful in

Canada since 2001.

2.Colombia
It is legal to possess up to 20 plants and/or to have up to 22 grams of weed, for personal

consumption. Marijuana is completely legal for medical use.

3.Netherlands

It is legal to sell weed and in designated “coffee shops”. Outline of coffee shops , it is illegal

decriminalized to possess up to 5 grams or 5 plants.

D. Examples of ailments that Marijuana can cure.

1. Epilepsy

- The FDA recently approved the use of Epidiolex (a plant-based formulation of CBD) to treat seizures for
people 2 years of age and older with Dravet syndrome and Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS).

- The Epilepsy Foundation’s official statement on marijuana and epilepsy is that they support the
lifting of federal barriers blocking research on cannabis and CBD. They also support access to
these possible therapies when people haven’t seen results from other epilepsy treatment
options.

2. Cancer

- Studies have long shown that people who took marijuana extracts in clinical trials tended to
need less pain medicine.

- More recently, scientists reported that THC and other cannabinoids such as CBD slow growth
and/or cause death in certain types of cancer cells growing in lab dishes. Some animal studies
also suggest certain cannabinoids may slow growth and reduce spread of some forms of
cancer.

3. Crohn’s Disease

- Treatment with cannabis can relieve symptoms and improve quality of life in individuals with
Crohn's disease even though it has no impact on gut inflammation, according to new research
presented at a conference recently.

E. Statistics of Marijuana as a usage for medicinal purposes.

1. In recent years there has been a significant move toward the legalization of marijuana in the
United States. As of January 2017, it is legal for medical use in 28 states and the District of
Columbia and for recreational use in eight states and the District of Columbia (National
Conference of State Legislatures, 2017).

2. Despite the potential risks, marijuana is a widely used drug among adolescents. The 2015
Monitoring the Future survey shows that 35% of 12th graders and 25% of 10th graders reported
past year marijuana use and 21% and 15%, respectively, reported past 30 day use (Johnston et
al., 2016). About 80% of 12th graders and 66% of 10th graders reported that marijuana is “fairly
easy” or “very easy” to get. Only 32% of 12th graders and 43% of 10th graders perceived “great
risk” in regular marijuana use.

II. Marijuana as an Agricultural Business in the Philippines.

A. PRO’s of making Marijuana as a produce in the Philippines.

1. Economization of Government Expenditure

2. Medical Benefits

3. Increased Availability of High-Quality Drug

B. Example of Countries that make Marijuana as an Agricultural Business and their profit
from it.

1. United States - 47.3 billion us dollars by 2024

2. Canada - 47.3 billion us dollars by 2024

3. European Market Worth – estimated to be 1,403,000,000,000 us dollars or 115 billion

British pounds

4. Uruguay – may reach 23.9% more in 2025 from 13.8 billion in 2018

5. Colombia – their biggest company Canopy Growth is worth 16 billion us dollars

In short, very large numbers; however like all businesses, there have been steady declines
and also steep declines of sales.

C. Qualities that Marijuana has, as an agricultural business.

1. According to Angela Chen legal marijuana could mean a big push for state economies and
big bucks for both the state and the federal governments.
 2. According to Mrinalini Krishna there is a report from the Colorado State University-Pueblo's
Institute of Cannabis Research recently found that the legal cannabis industry has contributed
more than $58 million to the local economy, primarily through taxes and other fees.

3. ETFGI Consultancy Firm revealed that the world’s first cannabis exchange-traded fund is
on its way to becoming the second most profitable exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Canada after
offering 50% return so far this year.

D. Statistics of Marijuana as an Agricultural Business.

1.Research on cannabis agriculture systems is especially urgent in light of recent policy

liberalization (Crick et al 2013), which is facilitating a transition in cannabis from an illegal drug
to a licit agricultural crop. Cannabis is still federally illegal in the United States as a Schedule 1
drug according to the Drug Enforcement Agency

2. In the current era of policy liberalization, the seat of cannabis agriculture in the United States
is a region known as the 'Emerald Triangle' in northern California (Corva 2014).

3. The spatial clustering of grows in environmentally sensitive areas within individual

watersheds suggests that cannabis production will have disproportionate impacts in certain
locales.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-
9326/11/4/044023?fbclid=IwAR1t6tWFZFOmAQwW0V0bTn36-
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Other Details:

Marijuana’s history in the U.S.

Same with marijuana, xenophobia triggered the hatred and stigma about it. The Federal Bureau
of Narcotics back in the 1930s, Mr. Harry Anslinger, blamed marijuana as the fuel of “black
people” in making “satanic music” or jazz. He also stated that it is the “black people” mentioned
that it is what made them think that they are as good as white men.
Then U.S. President Nixon openly admitted to Harper’s Magazine that it was the war between
races that stimulated such hate about drugs
Causes of deaths in the U.S.
1. 800 deaths in drugs
2. 800,00 in alcohol consumption
3. 480, 000 in cigarette smoking
Licenses needed to sell marijuana from https://www.bizfilings.com/toolkit/research-
topics/staying-compliant/business-license-requirements-cannabis-business
1. Permit
2. Business information
3. Sale tax permit
4. Tax ID number
5. DBA Filing
6. General business permit
7. Other requirements vary per state and country
Licensing also differs on category
1. Cultivation – heavily regulated. An operation like this will require a significant initial
investment and a vigorous site plan review, and practical and proven horticultural
knowledge.
2. Retail – requires you to provide adequate product and building in a place. When
applying for more than one retail license, those available funds need to be available for
each establishment.
3. Edibles – may require you to cook and maintain produce in a commercial kitchen.
Making products like weed brownies etc.
4. Investors - Those who want to invest in cannabis businesses may need to follow specific
regulatory and statutory provisions as well.
Licensing for employees through the MED Occupational License
1. Key employee – necessary to make management decisions that affect the business in
any way, shape or form
2. Support employee or budtender – necessary for employees that work in the business
that aren’t involved in making operational decisions

Marijuana’s history

1. In 1971, then U.S. President Richard Nixon called drug abuse “public enemy number one”
and declared a “war on drugs.” One of Nixon’s top advisers, John Ehrlichman, later admitted to
Harper’s Magazine:

“You want to know what this was really all about? The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon
White House after that, had two enemies: the antiwar left and black people. … We knew we
couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to
associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalizing both heavily,
we could disrupt those communities. We could arrest their leaders, raid their homes, break up
their meetings and vilify them night after night on the evening news. Did we know we were lying
about the drugs? Of course we did.”

Causes of deaths from sapiens.org

Alcohol is responsible for 88,000 deaths annually in the U.S. alone. That’s more than the
approximately 70,200 deaths caused by all prescription and illegal drugs combined in 2017.
Those death tolls are dwarfed by cigarette smoking, which leads to more than 480,000 deaths
annually in the U.S. But moderate drinking is actually celebrated, or at least tolerated, in many
societies. And tobacco is much more socially accepted than cocaine or even cannabis.

All licenses

Basic Legal Requirements

No matter what type of business you’re interested in, there are basic legal requirements you will
need to follow. Although these may vary depending on your location and industry, here are
some common requirements.

Business formation: Incorporating your business or forming an LLC with the state is important
because it protects your personal assets from any potential debts and liabilities that arise from
your business.

Tax ID number: This is your federal tax identification number, also called an employer
identification number (EIN). The IRS uses this number to identify your business for anything
related to taxes.

General Business License: This license, renewed annually, allows you to legally operate in your
city or county. (Note: This license does not give you the authorization to operate a cannabis
business.)
DBA Filing: Your DBA (Doing Business As) allows you to conduct business using a name that’s
different than the name included in your incorporation papers.

Sales Tax Permit: This is for retailers of physical or digital products or services, both online and
offline. If you have to collect state and local sales taxes, you need this permit.

Permits: Different businesses need varying permits. For example, you’ll need one with the
health department if your business requires food preparation. Businesses may also need
permits for signage, zoning and land use.

Note: A home-based or online business often requires the same level of compliance as a
traditional bricks-and-mortar commercial establishment.

Business License Requirements for Cannabis

As with general licensing requirements, business license requirements for cannabis vary greatly
from state to state and between municipalities. For example, while some states hold an open
application period and give out many licenses, others states are more restrictive and can limit
the number of licenses issued to single digits.

There are also restrictions related to residency and background (those with previous convictions
may not be eligible), which can apply to owners, contractors and employees.

How licensing differs based on business category

As a cannabis business, you’ll be regulated based on a variety of factors. One of them is

category of business—whether you’re cultivating, selling, manufacturing or investing. Here are a
few examples of how licensing differs based on business category.

Cultivation: Growing cannabis is usually heavily regulated. An operation like this will require a
significant initial investment and a vigorous site plan review, and practical and proven
horticultural knowledge.

Retail: As a retailer, some states may require that you’re able to provide adequate product and
building security in place. They may also limit the amount of product that can be sold to one
individual and restrictions on your pricing. For example, Nevada requires cannabis business
owners to have at least $250,000 in liquid assets that are “unencumbered and can be converted
within 30 days after a request to liquidate such assets.” When applying for more than one retail
license, those available funds need to be available for each establishment.

Edibles: When manufacturing edibles, some states require that you cook and maintain your
product in a commercial kitchen. You may need to produce the cannabis butters and oils that
are used in your product on site as well.

Investors: Those who want to invest in cannabis businesses may need to follow specific
regulatory and statutory provisions as well. In Colorado, there are detailed requirements for
anyone interested in legally investing in a marijuana business within the state.

Licensing for employees

There are also licensing requirements for employees working for a cannabis business. Some
states require that any employee be licensed to work for a cannabis-related business, in
addition to meeting standard state requirements concerning employees for any type of
business.

Nevada requires all employees or volunteers of a cannabis business to apply for and receive a
registered agent card. According to Nevada.gov, this agent card requires a background check
and is issued by the state.

Colorado has two types of licenses that stem from the MED Occupational License. This allows
holders to work for MED licensed Medical and Retail Marijuana facilities or for vendors that
provide services to MED Medical and Retail Marijuana business licensees. The two categories
of this license, as explained by Colorado.gov, include -

Key Employee: This is necessary for any employee who’s making operational or management
decisions that directly impact the business. This might be the master grower, the person who’s
determining what or how much of a particular strain to produce.

Support Employee: This is required for any employee that works within the business but isn’t
involved in making operational decisions. For example, a “budtender.” As such, the majority of
occupational license holders are in this category.