By Vanne Elaine Terrazola Senate President Vicente Sotto III is backing the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in its initiative to study medical marijuana and promote better awareness on its use. Sotto has expressed support for the PDEA as he agreed that there is no proof yet that marijuana, or cannabis, cured an illness specifically in the country. "Talaga namang wala, walang empirical data na ang marijuana may nagagamot (There is indeed no empirical data that marijuana has cured an illness). Alleviate, perhaps, or nakakatulong (help), perhaps; 'yon ang sinabi ng mga research, ng UN (those were the findings of researches, of the United Nations), pero (but) it does not cure anything. It can't cure anything," Sotto, who once led the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB), said in a radio interview recently. Senate President Vicente Sotto III (Jansen Romero / MANILA BULLETIN) Sotto said it would be good for the PDEA to "study carefully" medical marijuana in a local setting, particularly the use of cannabis oil. He said cannabis oil does not contain "THC", or tetrahydrocannabinol, which is the chemical responsible for making a person high. "Tama 'yon, pag-aralan nilang mabuti at ituro nila sa mga gustong makaalam (That's right, they should study it carefully and inform those who wanted to know about it)," Sotto said. While he welcomed the study, the staunch anti-illegal drug advocate, however, reiterated that there is no need for a law legalizing the use of marijuana for medical purposes as he reiterated that the Republic Act 9165, already provides for its "compassionate use." What was lacking, Sotto said, was the public's awareness that the law allows individuals to apply for compassionate use permits before the DDB and the Food and Drug Administration. He said 583 applicants for the compassionate use of dangerous drugs were granted permits last year. "Out of 104-million Filipinos, let's say two million will benefit from that, bakit mo naman ile-legalize ang yung kabuuan ng marijuana dahil yun 102 million ay wala nang pakialam doon sa gusto ng two million (Why would legalize the whole of marijuana when the remaining 102 million have nothing to do with what those two-million people want)?" Sotto said. Last week, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino said the agency will conduct a study on the medical use of marijuana in the Philippines amid talks on its possible legalization. The PDEA also sought to correct misinformation about marijuana among the public.