Our attitude determines our altitude

Friday, April 10, is the day for all legalizers to show support for a moratorium on legalization. Everyone who has tried marijuana or uses marijuana and/or supports legalization needs to be at the Multi-Purpose Center at 6pm for the Senate hearing. If there was ever a time to show up and make a difference, this day is your chance to change the CNMI! The CNMI’s attitude toward legalization will definitely determine our economic altitude so do we want to soar with the eagles as a leader in tourism in our region or continue to flounder in the sea of the world’s economic markets for tourism?

America and the entire world is changing at a breakneck speed toward legalization so are we going to continue to live and function on “island time” which is late and last or do we start trying to catch up with the rest of American society? Our capitalistic (money) driven economy is fueled by products and services that compete but if our leaders don’t lay the foundation for the CNMI to be competitive in the market places of our nation and the world, we will continue to be doomed to live a quality of life that is substandard to the rest of American society. We only need to look at our neighbors in Guam to know we have a long way to go in catching up with economic prosperity. Guam continues to beat the CNMI to the punch and I’m just wondering when our leaders are going to get it that we are in competition with Guam and we are losing big time. We need to be more competitive!

Prosperity has always been right around the corner but getting our leaders to take us in the right direction to turn the right corner is the problem. The governor said we (the CNMI) are not ready for legalization without any kind of survey, public hearings or anything before the election. But now that he has asked for economic proposals, I can only hope for the sake of the CNMI that he will now take a second and more serious look at the full legalization issue as there is just too much $$$, good skilled jobs, and prosperity at stake. Yes, there are even highly skilled jobs in the marijuana industry as even the cultivators are like “pharmacists” and must be trained. It is not as simple as planting a seed, watering it and watching it grow and we need literally hundreds of cultivators who can literally become millionaires over time. Wake up locals and don’t let opportunity pass you by! This is the first time locals have a real legitimate chance to become self-made millionaires in a new industry, which is why the Senate hearing on Friday should be packed with locals asking for a moratorium on full legalization. This is your only chance, so carpe diem!

The attitude of the CNMI, especially among our leaders, has been too conservative, which is the main reason we are suffering economically and why our youth and many adults are continuing to leave for the mainland as fast as they can get a ticket. We are also wasting resources by addressing only medical use as the CNMI can use the same efforts, time and money to study medical, medicinal, recreational use and encourage local marijuana products that might have the potential for exporting to states that have legalized it. The CNMI must change our attitude and learn to “think outside-the-box” (break paradigms) if we are to ever find prosperity for the average local person. So give full legalization a chance and attend the Senate hearing this Friday and speak up and even bring a small sign supporting a moratorium for full legalization. Tell a friend to tell another friend to be there as everyone does not read the newspaper—so please pass this message on if you want a better CNMI!

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan