Question & AnswerQ&A (PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1708)
The main purpose of Presidential Decree No. 1708 is to amend Paragraph (i), Section 2 of Republic Act No. 6425 (Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972) to penalize the possession of marijuana seeds, thereby providing a deterrent to the proliferation of marijuana plantations.
PD No. 1708 specifically amends Paragraph (i), Section 2 of Republic Act No. 6425 (Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972).
The legal gap was that the Dangerous Drugs Act did not penalize the possession of marijuana seeds, which the Court of Appeals confirmed in the Noises Padua case by ruling that marijuana seeds were not included under the definition of ‘Indian Hemp’ in the Act.
PD No. 1708 amends the definition of ‘Indian Hemp’ to include every kind, class, and character of the plant cannabis sativa L., including seeds thereof, whether dried or fresh, flowering or fruiting tops of the pistillate plant, and all its geographic varieties in any form whatsoever.
Because the original Dangerous Drugs Act's definition of Indian Hemp did not explicitly include seeds, and the Court of Appeals ruled in the Noises Padua case that marijuana seeds were not embraced within the said definition.
The amendment covers cannabis sativa L., including cannabis americana, hashish, bhang, guaza, churrus, ganjab, and all geographic varieties whether as reefer, resin, extract, tincture, or in any form whatsoever.
PD No. 1708 took effect immediately upon its signing on August 8, 1980.
It was enacted by President Ferdinand E. Marcos of the Philippines.
The judicial case referenced is the Noises Padua case decided by the Court of Appeals.
Because seeds are the source of marijuana plants, and penalizing possession of seeds would serve as a deterrent and help check the proliferation of illegal marijuana plantations.