Roque advises ‘grass’ farmers: grow flowers

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque advised Cordillera farmers to stop planting marijuana and instead grow what he said were cash crops, like cut flowers.

In a press briefing in Bontoc, Mountain Province, on Tuesday, Roque told Cordillera farmers they could end up behind bars if they continued planting marijuana.

“There are many alternative cash crops that our farmers can plant, even cut flowers,” he said.

He said Cordillera farmers should be reminded that getting caught growing cannabis “means life imprisonment.”

He said while President Duterte was aware of marijuana’s medical properties, the President was still against legalizing it.

“The problem in allowing marijuana to be planted is that you can no longer control where the marijuana goes,” he said.

He said farmers can also raise livestock. —Julie M. Aurelio