Marijuana momentum is growing

Apparently there is some opposition to the draft legislation that I proposed but the public needs to know why! The draft is designed to help our government more with revenues than private business until marijuana is decriminalized by the feds. Marijuana use is not fully ready to be handed over to the private sector because it is still illegal under federal law and it can’t be fully controlled in the private sector as proven with the sale of all kinds of “unrated” marijuana products and private dispensaries who caused the only federal intervention in Colorado when the state’s own marijuana laws were being violated. As bad as the government is about conducting business, it is still the best shelter for controlling and creating a marijuana industry at this point. I can tell that those against the draft are more concerned with killing my draft and their own ability to make money than helping our government and all of us. I even warned the group that their quest for personal wealth over doing what is best for the people would put us on a collision course and even derail any hopes for legalization.

FYI, there is a plethora of support throughout the CNMI for legalization, especially among the young voters and there is an enormous support in the state of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. I have talked to many of those here and on the mainland and many, especially our young voters, even moved to Washington state in part because of legalization. We are not only missing out on revenues, we are literally chasing our own people away. Today Washington State is believed to have more locals than any other state!

The reason there is no public support locally is because there is no public leader who is leading on the issue. I have learned that more than anything people want to be winners and don’t want to waste their time or their vote. So if the issue is leaderless and doesn’t look like it can win, they can’t and will not follow regardless of the merits and even the need for change. There is also the fact that most of the people do not want to go public with their support for the obvious reason of it being a controversial change. But I feel extremely confident that if the people were ever given a chance to vote on the issue it would indeed pass.

I have done more than anyone to promote the issue of legalization and all I am getting is complaints by those who want legalization their way. I begged this group to work with me but we all know what greed can do. Trashing my draft when they haven’t even done the work to create their own and putting the issue down certainly didn’t help the group nor the people with the issue. They just created more controversy with no solution as usual. FYI, a draft by its very nature is not final but a starting point and the best thing that anyone can do is to work collaboratively and improve on it so everyone will be happy. Guam and the rest of America are leaving us in their wake of new revenues from legalization and complaining and putting me down is not going to catch us up to the rest of America.

Four states have full legalization and our nation’s capital along with medical use in 27 other states and more states are lining up. The momentum and support is growing. The CNMI just needs an elected official with the fortitude and wisdom to see we can earn hundreds of millions like other states without harming our society. I can only pray that one day the group will get it that “One People, One Direction” means we can create real synergy with real progress if we learn to compromise and we work together. Locals know the concept as in afa’ molic!

P.S.: Please read the draft legislation before passing judgment and please note that the government will “partner” with many private growers (over 100) in the draft so there is a big potential for those in the private sector to become millionaires even though the government will be the primary recipient of the revenues. In fact, the legislation is a scientific approach to legalization, unlike in other states as it is a designed “experiment” so we can adapt, change and fix our legalization laws to best control and serve the people and our government. The basic foundation and philosophy of the legislation that I proposed is actually better and more controlling than any of the existing state laws that legalized marijuana. Given that I have already begun the process, all we need is a political leader to champion the issue by sponsoring the draft legislation so the Legislature can fix it to make legalization a reality or we are going to miss out on hundreds of millions of dollars!

Ambrose M Bennett
Kagman, Saipan