Amending Paragraph (i), Section 2 of R.A. No. 6425 (Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972)

August 8, 1980

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1708

AMENDING PARAGRAPH (i), SECTION 2 OF REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED SIXTY-FOUR HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 1972", AS AMENDED

WHEREAS, the volume of marijuana apprehended by law enforcement officers and men appears to confirm the observation that the illegal growing, cultivation and production of marijuana plants remain unchecked;

WHEREAS, law enforcement agencies tasked with the enforcement of the Dangerous Drugs Act claim that the proliferation of "marijuana plantations" is mainly attributable to the failure of the Dangerous Drugs Act to penalize the possession of marijuana seeds which are the very source of marijuana plants;

WHEREAS, the view that the Dangerous Drugs Act fails to penalize the possession of marijuana seeds has been confirmed by the Court of Appeals in its decision in the Moises Padua case which, in acquitting the accused, rules that the seeds of marijuana are not embraced in the definition of "Indian Hemp" as provided in the said act;

WHEREAS, it is imperative that the possession of marijuana seeds be penalized to provide a deterrent to, or check the proliferation of "marijuana plantations".

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 2(i) of Republic Act Numbered sixty-four hundred and twenty-five, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows: acd

"(i) 'Indian Hemp' — otherwise known as 'Marijuana' embraces every kind and class of the plant cannabis sativa L., including cannabis americana, hashhish, bhang, guaza, churrus and ganjab, and embraces every kind, class and character of Indian Hemp, whether dried or fresh, flowering or fruiting tops of the pistillate plant, SEEDS THEREOF, and all its geographic varieties whether as a reefer, resin, extract, tincture or in any form whatsoever".

SECTION 2. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 8th day of August, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 76 No. 44, 8231-50 Supp., on November 3, 1980.