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Pot bill now with the committee
The marijuana bill that I helped create is now in the Senate. I can now tell people who ask me that the bill is at least on the tarmac and going through the final pre-flight checks. There were some disagreements about the final draft but, fortunately, we do have a democratic system. I am thankful to the senator for getting the legislation on the tarmac but that doesn’t mean it is safe to fly yet, which is why it is being submitted to the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Government and Law.
So I am thankful for the process and so should the rest of our society because the things I disagreed with in the bill still have a chance to be fixed. This committee has the power to fix the bill and their character is about to be tested.
It was the leadership of the 19th Senate who sent me to Colorado for the specific purpose of helping the Senate create the best bill possible. I’m their own expert, paid for with taxpayers’ money! So if they can’t believe me, then who can they believe? I just hope this important and critical fact that I’m their expert and co-author won’t be trashed because there may not be anyone in the CNMI more informed on this subject.
Proposing marijuana legislation and getting it right are two different horses. So I hope and pray that the many people with a vested interest in legalization and for the CNMI that the Senate committee and I can get it right the first time.
On a final note, the upcoming Beer & BBQ Festival is a great idea but an even better idea would be the Pot & BBQ Festival. Marijuana is much better and even safer than beer. Period. A Pot & BBQ Festival equals a generation of new tourists and a lot of happy, peaceful, high people who will eat all the food.
Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan
