Cigarettes infused with synthetic marijuana compounds are banned, according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
Laboratory testing confirmed the presence of cannabinoids in tuklaw cigarettes or Vietnam’s Thuc lào, in the Philippines and Singapore, PDEA chief Isagani Nerez said.
‘When the result was positive both domestically and in Singapore, we informed the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) about it,’ he said.
At yesterday’s PDEA budget hearing at the Senate, Nerez confirmed that possessing tuklaw is a criminal offense.
While some cannabinoids have legitimate medical uses, the cannabinoid ‘pinaca’ has negative effects, DDB executive director Earl Saavedra said.
The PDEA and DDB have cited reports of teenagers exhibiting seizure-like symptoms characterized by brief shock-like body jerks and twitches after using the cigarette.