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Who are criminals and who are you
I may be one of the few outspoken activists who tackles the tough issues on the social and economic realities of the CNMI. Well, I am now fighting for the people with a criminal record who can’t speak for themselves as the question has come up about “people with a criminal record working in the cannabis industry” because they are eliminated from being fully active participant in all parts of the industry’s operations under the present Cannabis Act.
Many people call a person a criminal forever just because they were a criminal at one time in their life—but is that right and fair? Can one really say a person is a criminal for life just because they committed a criminal act at one time or another? The right answer is no because that label and stereotyping is supposed to end once that person has fulfilled their punishment and obligation to society. That is why there are federal laws to ensure these people can be absorbed into society without prejudice!
If it wasn’t for this federal law, I would have never been a teacher in Memphis nor here and a member of the CNMI State Board of Education. I’m sure it was an attempt to be “politically correct” to say people like me can’t work in the marijuana industry but I am literally a co-author of SB 20-62!
But it is not so much about me as it is the many cultivators who now grow marijuana but have a record. There are also some professionals who use pot with a record who can certainly help in the administrative division or even on the board. It would indeed be poetic justice to give former criminals a chance to do what they had been doing illegally to do it under a legal system, with an opportunity to become legal entrepreneurs. The cannabis industry is only going to grow for some years to come. Give these people a chance as we need them!
To be continued tomorrow.
Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan
