Santos, Joneline Kaye D.

Argumentation and Debate

BA Political Science 1-3 Mr. Reymundo DJ. De Guzman Jr.

In the Article XIII, Section 11 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, it is expressed that “the
State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall
endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people at
affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled,
women, and children. The State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.”

There is a necessity to pass a bill in order to comply with the constitutional mandates and
global commitments of promoting the right to health. I affirm the resolution that "Medical
marijuana be legalized."

To further clarify, I would like to define a few key terms:

Medical Marijuana: a plant-based medicine from the Cannabis sativa or Cannabis indica
species with three major active compounds: THC, CBD, and CBN alluding to any part or bit of
the plant and seeds thereof, and all its geographic varieties, whether as a reefer, resin, extract,
tincture or in any frame at all.

Legalize: to give legal validity or sanction to.

Now, before proceeding onward, enable me to elucidate the weights of this round. As the
affirmative, I should prove to you that the government must pass a law authorizing the utilization
of medicinal cannabis. Second, realize that this isn't about the inquiry whether marijuana is good
or bad, but instead, how might we control it? What is the best procedure to save lives?

With these, my value today is health. The resolution discusses about allowing the usage of
marijuana in medical use so health is clearly the most noteworthy incentive in this debate. The
criterion I offer for weighing the resolution is the preservation and protection of health,
characterized as the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit. In order for an act to be
justified, we must determine whether it preserves and protects health in terms of keeping the
people's body, mind, or spirit in sound.
 To substantiate my value premise and criterion, I offer that the medical marijuana be
legalized.

Contention 1: Medical marijuana has been proven to have several medical uses.

Dr. Junice L.D. Melgar, Executive Director of the Likhaan Center for Women's Health,
explained that marijuana has several medical uses such as marijuana can stop epileptic seizures
and can help treat neuropathic diseases such as Alzheimer's and multiple sclerosis. It can also treat
loss of appetite after chemotherapy or following treatment for HIV or AIDS.

Authorizing cannabis could mean game-changing medical discoveries for certain ailments,
and more extensive access for patients. According to a study conducted by the University of
the Philippines' Institute of Human Genetics, National Institutes of Health, 189 of every 100,000
Filipinos are afflicted with cancer while four Filipinos die of cancer every hour or 96 cancer
patients every day. This alone made us a standout amongst the most number of cancer patients in
Asia. It is clear that it is fundamental to our surviving patients to have an alternative medicine to
cure them or at least ease the pain. From cancer patients alone, we could limit its number in the
event that we just open ourselves for another method of treatment. Recently, it was accounted for
that HIV cases in our nation is spreading quick, we can keep this in the event if we can enable
ourselves to see the benefits of marijuana. These numbers are disturbing that requires the necessity
of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Contention 2: Marijuana has a less harmful effect than alcohols and cigarettes.

"You can die binge-drinking five minutes after you've been exposed to alcohol. That isn't
going to happen with marijuana. The impact of marijuana use is much subtler," said Ruben Baler,
a health scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

In 2014, 30,722 people died from alcohol-induced causes in the US — and that does not
count drinking-related accidents or homicides. If those deaths were included, the number would
be closer to 90,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alcohol is more
likely than marijuana to interact with other drugs. The way that alcohol is metabolized, or broken
down, in the body, is common to many drugs that are taken for a variety of conditions, said Gary
Murray, acting director of the Division of Metabolism and Health Effects at the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. This means that for people taking drugs or medications while
drinking, the alcohol can increase or decrease levels of the active drug in the body.

Meanwhile, no deaths from marijuana overdoses have been reported, according to the Drug
Enforcement Administration. A 16-year study of more than 65,000 Americans, published in the
American Journal of Public Health, found that healthy marijuana users were not more likely to die
earlier than healthy people who did not use cannabis. Some research initially suggested a link
between smoking and lung cancer, but that has been debunked. The January report found that
cannabis was not connected to any increased risk of the lung cancers or head and neck cancers tied
to smoking cigarettes.

These studies become even more significant because the people always argue that the
government's position of drugs is dangerous, and will lead to an increase in drug-related problems.

The move represents a gigantic test to the routine that has managed drug policy around the
world for a considerable length of time. For much of recent history, the way to deal with marijuana
was to ban it. Now, states and countries are trying to find a better way to deal with the drug —
allowing it for medical use in some cases, decriminalizing it in others, or outright legalizing it.

In the event that progresses in logical research and innovation exposed all "dogmatism and
extremism" toward disputable medical problems, for example, the utilization of the use of birth
control pills and invasive surgical procedures, I am expectant that the same could happen for
medical marijuana in the Philippines because we can see that through the affirmation of the
resolution, health is preserved and protected, I stand to affirm the resolution.
REBUTTAL

 While it is true that Marijuana can have bad side effects on the brain, it can be useful if the
consumption of the substance is controlled, the study showed that it is harmful to the brain
but the test subjects were taking the drugs every day, not once in a while, if you have
control over the substance, it can have a good use. Too much of anything is bad for you,
which is why having control will of the consumption is important.

 Marijuana is not as addictive as other substance like cocaine or alcohol, the stats shows
that people are getting addicted to it, but that brings me back to the first point, these people
are talking the substance every day, and the stats are not as high as other drugs, if you can
control the rate of which your customers are consuming, you can avoid any harm being
done to the body and the mind which will avoid any addiction.

 Marijuana is not the main causes of death, the main reason why there are accident is the
use of alcohol, only 18 percent of the car accident had the use of Marijuana involved but
there was other drugs involved in the seen, not just Marijuana, Drunk driving is a much of
a bigger problem than driving with Marijuana.

 HB 6517 – The Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration would
regulate its use. Marijuana is a prohibited substance under Republic Act No. 9165, or the
Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

 The House bill also seeks the creation of the Medical Cannabis Compassionate Center to
be licensed by the DOH. The center will acquire, possess, manufacture and sell cannabis
to registered qualifying patients.

 It is also clarified that under the proposed measure, recreational use, growing, or possession
of the marijuana plant would still be banned.

 There will be physicians who has professional knowledge of the use of medical cannabis
licensed by PDEA to prescribe medical cannabis to qualified patients.

 Under HB 6517, a patient would be qualified to use medical marijuana if he or she is

diagnosed as having a debilitating disease and who, upon the doctor's evaluation, should
receive "therapeutic or palliative benefits" from the medical use of cannabis.
  The qualified patient would have the right to choose the type of medicine and health care
services that he or she would receive to alleviate the medical condition.

 HB 6517 would create medical cannabis compassionate centers, which would be tasked
to acquire, possess, deliver, transfer, transport, sell, supply, and dispense marijuana to
qualified patients.

 A medical cannabis research and safety compliance facility would also be established to
conduct scientific and medical research on the medical use of marijuana.

 Both of these centers would be under the jurisdiction of the DOH, which would be the
principal regulatory agency for medical marijuana use.

 The DOH would also be tasked to create an advisory committee on the medical use of
cannabis, tasked to implement the provisions under HB 6517.

ARGUMENTS
1. The Legalization of Marijuana will help to control this drug, and will help keep it off the
streets, by doing so you can regulate to use and traffic of this drug.
2. Furthermore you can tax the use or Marijuana which will help the economy and reduce the
crime rate from smuggling the drugs into the country.
3. Many lives have been destroyed and billions of money have been spent to repair the causes of
drug wars, if the drug is allowed, it will make getting Marijuana a convenience, no more will
people have to fight for it.
4. The legalization of the drugs will not lead to increased use of it because you are monitoring
the traffic of it, giving you control of how much you are outputting.
5. Marijuana is not the most harmful drugs, Marijuana can be used to relieve stress and is a much
better substance than alcohol. While drinking can be a problem, you can't get addicted to
Marijuana, where with alcohol start having a drinking problem.
6. Marijuana can help to make pain go away and be used as a painkiller. There are many great
uses for Marijuana, and it can help to make lives better as long as we have control over it, i
believe that legalizing Marijuana can help change the world for the better goods.