CBD in the Philippines

[Reboot]

Hello Friends

My wife's younger sister has suffered from seizures all her life. She has controlled it with phenobarbital. But the side effects have been awful, making her a low functioning human being. She has always been like this. Phenobarbital is a barbiturate with sedative effects.

During Christmas, we sent the family a balikbayan box.  In the box were a couple of (expensive) bottles of CBD oil we got for her.

As you might know, CBD is non-psychoactive and legal in the US. It is extracted from hemp plants that don't have any THC, etc. It has been used with great success to treat seizures, to such an extent, that a British company won regulatory approval for its proprietary preparation in order to treat certain forms of pediatric epilepsy, before which it was able to demonstrate greatly reduced seizure incidents in young children.

Long story short, the CBD appears to have changed my sister in law's life. She takes a couple of drops a day, one morning, one evening. She's been able to cut back to half her old phenobarbital daily dose, and she's like a different person now, starting up a fish business and actually starting to be able to take care of herself and her children much better. She's not the dull drugged out woman of before. And really, she's been maintaining a low dose to make the stuff last. I think a higher dose might mean she can cut out the phenobarbital entirely.

I don't want to see her relapse to her former state. I don't know what the legal status is for CBD in the RoP. But sending some in a large package seemed like an acceptable risk.

One small problem, however: she's running out of the stuff I sent her for Christmas, and I need to know if there are local sources, since it can take months to ship her more in a BB box.

Any advice or recommendations will be sincerely appreciated.

Reboot.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Reboot

[Jollygoodfellow]

30 minutes ago, Reboot said:

As you might know, CBD is non-psychoactive and legal in the US.

With 0.3 % of THC

But here, https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1031875

Quote

QUEZON CITY, Dec 21 --  The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) reiterated its warning to the public against buying imported Cannabidiol (CBD) oil  being used as pain reliever and helps improve overall health and wellness.

“PDEA cautions the public not to buy CBD oil simply because the law expressly forbids it,” the PDEA Director General Aaron N Aquino said in a statement.
 
The PDEA chief  issued  the warning after the increased trafficking of CBD oil using the mail and parcel services was recorded. CBD oil is also openly sold in online shopping platforms in the country.         

 

[fillipino_wannabe]

You (or her) would literally get 10-15 years in jail for importing drugs. 

[Heeb]

My wife wanted to send some THC oil in a balikbayan box before we left, I said hell no, who do you think ends up in jail.

[AusExpat]

A friend of my Doctor here in Manila is part of an advocy group working on getting it legalised, I met him once but do not have any direct contact.

I did however find this article https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/2/17/DDB-medical-marijuana-cannabidiol.html

Quote

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 16 (2020)) – The recent approval of a cannabis product for compassionate use does not necessarily increase the chances of the government's legalization of medical marijuana, the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) clarified Monday.

"On the contrary, this will just show na hindi na kailangan 'yong bill na 'yan kasi (thay they don't need such bill anymore because) they can have this medicine for compassionate use," DDB Chair Catalino Cuy told CNN Philippines' Newsroom.

So there is hope on the horizon, there is also a Philippines CBD oil group on Facebook, but I don't use FB so I cannot look into it.

Edited April 14, 2020 by AusExpat

[Jollygoodfellow]

You can buy it through Lazada but you take the risk. Shipped from overseas. 

[Reboot]

14 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

With 0.3 % of THC

But here, https://pia.gov.ph/news/articles/1031875

 

That's maximum federal level allowed. Actual products contain far less, as they are tested and there are always variances in harvested product. Anyway, 0.3% is a subclinical level. It produces no observable effects.

[Reboot]

7 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

You can buy it through Lazada but you take the risk. Shipped from overseas. 

I looked on there....not sure if they are fake/bad products though.

[Jollygoodfellow]

2 hours ago, Reboot said:

I looked on there....not sure if they are fake/bad products though.

Still the problem is they are not permitted here in the Philippines.

[AusExpat]

4 hours ago, Reboot said:

I looked on there....not sure if they are fake/bad products though.

Yeah, I got some in the US before but I bought direct from the manufacturer who had a good review on a alt health site I had been following for years, and I wrote to them and got a response within hours with all the medical literature they could legally supply.

The only other way to verify from an unknown source and give it to someone like your wifes sister who will be able to tell if it is fake/watered down within a few days, the average user wouldn't have that ability.

If anyone has not seen the effects of real use of medical marijuana this 104 second video is worth watching, especially if you are older