A CHC-CUC-retirees-PSS-land sales and compensation and other solutions

All of the entities and financial challenges in this title and more were used to promote the casino in the past decade, which no one can deny. But the reality is the casino can’t fix any of these things, especially when it hasn’t even been built and will take years for us to reap the full benefits of a casino and it still might not be enough funding. The entire world is now looking at changing their stance on marijuana, which we know is the one cash crop that can fix our economy. If you want CHC to have ample funding, if you want the government to subsidize our CUC payments, if you want the Retirement Fund fully restored, PSS fully funded, the right to sell your private land and land compensation fully paid off, the public service ferry system and a host of other things done for the CNMI, then you should be doing all you can as a citizen to help in the promotion of the referendums and the legalization of marijuana in the CNMI. We can collect hundreds of millions every year!

There is no more shame in promoting legalization like in the past as times have changed. What more inspiration and proof do we need than the President and members of Congress asking us to reform our marijuana laws and two states that have proven legalizing it is capable of being a billion-dollar industry for states. The great thing about the CNMI’s proposed law is that our government will collect all the sales money, leaving Colorado and Washington in our wake when it comes to generating revenues. If the CNMI law becomes a reality as a better controlled operation, you can be assured that it will become the gold standard for legalization as a state operation eliminates all of the adverse challenges that Colorado and Washington faced with the four private dispensaries that purchased marijuana from drug cartels, instead of a licensed grower and the sales to youth can also be fully prevented and controlled by the state.

I don’t think our leaders even want to do something great for the CNMI as they continue to be silent on the legalization as if they never smoked pot and the issue doesn’t even exist. Hypocrites! But I am going to ask voters to help us all in sending them a message loud and clear as to what we the people want in this election. Politicians have traditionally told us what they plan to do for election season that usually never happens anyway. But this time we are going to switch it around and put the earnest on the present leaders and their opposition who are running for office to do what the people want for a change. There are six different referendums and two marijuana initiatives being circulated and our leaders won’t lift a finger to help put a single one of them on the ballot for the people to decide. They are acting like political gods, denying the people their right to decide. So if you representatives and senators don’t want to see you name up in lights on billboards around the island, I would suggest you start showing some respect and even support some of these referendums and the marijuana initiative, which we know can fix our economy. This is not a threat but a promise!

P.S.: Political science dictates that with six different referendums and two initiatives being circulated, if our leaders don’t start doing what the people want they will be judged and even found guilty in November.

Ambrose Bennett
Kagman, Saipan