President Rodrigo Duterte is supportive of the move to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes in the Philippines.

“The President has already made a statement on that prior. He said for purposes of medicine to heal he is in favor but not for use other than that,” said Salvador Panelo, Duterte’s mouthpiece in a press briefing on Tuesday.

Panelo also said that some countries have laws for legal but controlled access to medical marijuana like Canada and several US states.

“There have been researches. In fact, some countries have legalized marijuana. Some states in the US, ginagamit talaga yun. Pero syempre regulated,” he added.

Duterte said in his speech at the formal event in Malacañang on Monday that he takes marijuana to keep himself awake during conferences.

But later told the reporters that it was just a joke and it is his way “to shake the tree in the middle of a boring event.”