Despite the 2022 Medical Cannabis Pilot Program, recreational cannabis use remains a serious criminal offence in the Philippines. The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (RA 9165) penalizes possession with up to 12 years imprisonment. The political environment under successive administrations has been strongly anti-drug, with enforcement sometimes violent. Do not use or possess cannabis recreationally in Manila or anywhere in the Philippines.
In 2022, the Philippine Department of Health launched a limited Medical Cannabis Pilot Program under Republic Act 10883 (Compassionate Use Act). The program allows licensed healthcare providers to prescribe CBD-based preparations to specific patient categories including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and terminal cancer patients. This is not recreational access. Tourists cannot access the program. Only registered Filipino patients with a physician’s prescription and PDEA (Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency) registration qualify.
Manila: Cannabis Context 2024
Manila sits at a genuine inflection point in cannabis policy. The medical pilot program represents the first official acknowledgment that cannabis has therapeutic value in Philippine policy, a significant shift for a country that has one of Southeast Asia’s most aggressively anti-drug political histories. However, the practical reality for tourists and visitors remains unchanged: no recreational access, no legal dispensaries, strict enforcement, and serious consequences for violations.
The CBD market in Manila is beginning to emerge through the medical pilot framework, with a small number of licensed pharmacies and wellness centres carrying PDEA-compliant CBD preparations. These products are generally available only with documentation and are positioned firmly in the medical rather than wellness-recreational space. International brands available in Thai or Malaysian CBD shops are not available in Manila retail environments.