Best method for CNMI’s marijuana industries

As the CNMI prepares to open the doors to a new industry, it is critical that we use the right kind of “locks on the doors” (governance system of controls) in order to control everything going on behind those doors and to keep abuse and crime out! Due to the importance of this issue, I have researched every major aspect and most of the nuances to legalization and there are only two options for the application of the marijuana industry, which are public and private, meaning a government operation or a private sector operation.

First, readers need to know the marijuana industry is actually four industries: medical, recreational, products, and industrial). A marijuana industry under the control of the government will have fewer licensing problems and less crime, better controls and monitoring policies than a private sector operation. A private sector industry will require hundreds and even thousands of licenses that will also need to be monitored by the government. However, with a government operation there will not be a need to license every individual and operation in the entire industry, only requiring the issuance of permits for private citizens to cultivate and a license to the tourist’s dispensaries that will only be at the hotels/resorts that apply. The government will also run its own state or government stores for tourists and public sales.

A government operation will not have to worry about collecting taxes and schemes to avoid taxes like Colorado experienced. Unlike Colorado, which only collected 7 to 8 percent in taxes depending on the activity, the CNMI will reap at a minimum 75 percent of all the profits with the other 25 percent going to operation expenses and profit sharing with the hotel dispensaries and government-contracted cultivators. But a private operation will only provide tax revenues to the CNMI and even that will be challenging to collect as there is no way the CNMI can hold private cultivators and dispensaries accountable for every ounce grown and purchased. But even with controls and collection challenges, Colorado’s government made over $100 million from taxes, a $1.3-billion increase in tourist dollars, and businesses still made hundreds of millions solely from the side-effects of full legalization (more tourists, more flights and transportation activity, more hotel and restaurant revenues and the list goes on). The CNMI’s government model is better in all the categories and more lucrative for the government than the private sector model. The CNMI can easily become the future model and the envy of other states that only get taxes.

Under a government operation, tourists will not be put in a situation to be ripped off and even robbed as they can get their marijuana at their hotel dispensary or from a reputable government (state) store. Under a government operation we will also never have to worry about children being able to purchase marijuana at a state store. But under the private sector we know there will be dispensaries that will buy their supply from unlicensed growers and sell to our youth, along with criminals preying on tourists to sell their marijuana or to rob them. If the private sector will violate the law for small cigarette money, just think about the big money in marijuana and the organized crime that will be created in the private sector. We can’t let this industry rely on trust in the private sector as we can’t monitor everything and there is just too much money involved and temptation will surely prevail to manipulate a private sector system.

Under a government operation very little will change within the villages as locals will still be able to grow and barter but not sell. There will also be restrictions on how much a person can grow and transport for bartering purposes. People will be expected to grow their own personal marijuana or purchase it from a state store. Medical permits for growing will allow for more marijuana than recreational permits and there will also be limitations on where you can grow. For controlling the money, all sales collections will go to government coffers first for audit purposes and private dispensaries will receive their marijuana from the government. The dispensaries will be refunded their share that they must pay gross receipt taxes on. Illegal sales, especially to tourists, will still be a felony that will be enforced by local and federal authorities. Under the private sector, controls will be loose, businesses will make all the money and no bartering or unlicensed sales within the villages as it would infringe on the rights of the businesses who have paid for a license to sell.

Under a government operation, there will be a need for internal controls (policies) as a government operation and licensing the dispensaries that will get their marijuana from a government contracted (local) cultivators who can become very rich. The private sector will have to get its marijuana from a variety of sources that will need to be licensed and monitored closely, which is really impossible. In Colorado four dispensaries were busted by the feds for purchasing their marijuana from Mexican cartels who were not licensed growers. As you can see there will be crime under the private sector that will surely bring in the feds as it did in Colorado.

Under a government operation the use of products can be better controlled as the government will be the only distributor. Locals will also have the opportunity to create marijuana products without having to compete with outside products being shipped in unless they are approved by the government. Heck, who knows, some local(s) may come up with a real winner that we can export. Under the private sector the government will have to spend money to certify monitor and control the products that will be produced or imported, creating more competition for local products.

As for the industrial industry of hemp marijuana, the total production and sales for hemp marijuana should be with the private sector, with the government only collecting taxes and export duties on products. Hemp does not get you high and there is no personal use interest in hemp except for the products. Hemp will become an industry in itself especially if we have some aggressive locals who are willing to put the work into the industry and create marketable products. I just hope we don’t keep expecting outside investors to come in and do everything for us. Locals just need to be more aggressive and willing to chase the American Dream right here in the CNMI but our leaders need to set the conditions for the people to prosper first.

Henry Ford invented a car fender superior to metal and plastic from hemp that did not break or bend when hit with a sledgehammer but hemp was illegal so the fender never saw the light of day. Hemp products offer billions to be made from a totally virgin market with an endless line of products just waiting to be developed and sold. Chances like this only come once in your lifetime!

In conclusion and to make it simple, a government operation will have better and fewer controls. Under the government we will have the opportunity to make hundreds of million more than any state that has legalized pot and our government operation will be the envy of other states. Instead of dragging on and complaining about the CNMI’s history with America, it is time the CNMI started making some new American history with the first government operation to institute the legalization of marijuana.

Ambrose M Bennett
Kagman, Saipan