A 4-minute solution!

I would like readers to consider the idea of following Gov. Inos or President Obama. I’m sure most people with common sense don’t have to even think about it knowing the President is the better choice under any circumstances. Well, the President is leading on marijuana reform but Gov. Inos says we are not ready—again without any kind of study or feedback for support like he did with the ferry. So I’m following the President when it comes to marijuana reform and to hell with what our governor says or thinks and there are a lot of people joining in the reform to legalize marijuana. In fact, there are two initiatives going around and I encourage everyone to sign both because two initiatives are better for the people to decide as both initiatives accomplish the same goal. The fact that there are two marijuana initiatives really speaks volumes to the strong desire within the community to legalize it.

Inos and others have sworn the casino is our only solution but they really mean a casino is the only solution we’re going to get. Colorado and Washington states took the reform ball from the President and scored bog and now they are reaping the mega millions in reward. So do we really continue to follow Gov. Inos on marijuana reform or the President of the United States? It is really that simple. In fact it is so simple that when people come up to the referendum and initiative sign-up booth I have in Kagman, the first thing they ask for is the marijuana initiative without any explanation. People from all walks of life, from all the different professions and from all economic levels, are signing the initiative to legalize marijuana.

It is obvious the governor and the Legislature are playing politics with retirees by timing the 25 percent payment so retirees will start getting money from the casino for this election season. I’m just glad many retirees are not fooled and won’t vote for him. The investor may give away the $1 million license fee and even pay the nonrefundable $30 million but the $30 million is going to be refunded if the people do the right thing in the voting booth! We will have plenty of money and we are literally going to need a traffic light for flights at the airport if we legalize marijuana—that’s no April Fool joke.

The President is pushing marijuana reform because if America legalizes marijuana as a nation, we will have fewer headaches with crime and once again become one of the world’s top vacation spots generating hundreds of billions for the American economy but our governor said only casinos! But voters have the power to fix our economy and create a tourist industry that will thrive for many decades to come in four minutes. If voters take three minutes to sign the referendums and the initiative and one more minute in the voting booth approving them, you will have changed the CNMI for the better in just four minutes of your time. Voters know that legalizing marijuana is far better than a casino and it will certainly attract more tourists and flights to the CNMI than we need—a chance of a lifetime we shouldn’t miss that only comes once!

P.S.: Those who are for the casino don’t seem to realize they are supporting certain leaders and their principle of disrespecting the people. Casino supporters are breeding a disrespectful government by saying it is OK when you know it was wrong of them to force a casino down our throats. My God, do you people realize the next time it could be you crying foul from a government being disrespectful that you helped to breed! But you can be assured the CNMI will have the most controlled, most child-protective and most profitable marijuana law to date if approved.

Ambrose M Bennett
Kagman, Saipan