Is 'medical marijuana' an honest goal or a pretense?

THE issue of legalizing marijuana in the Philippines has gained some public attention of late, with the filing of bills in Congress calling for its legalization for medical use and a recent public survey showing that a majority of Filipinos support the idea. Experience in other places where marijuana has been approved for "medical" or recreational use strongly suggests that the idea of doing the same here should be considered with extreme skepticism and most probably rejected.