Statement on full legalization of marijuana in the CNMI

Editor’s Note: The following is the text of the testimony that the author presented during the public hearings on Rota on Senate Bill 19-06, a bill proposing to legalize the medical use of marijuana in the Commonwealth.

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If this bill passes as it is, the CNMI will still fail to be in compliance with our commander-in-chief’s public directive to stop locking up our youth for marijuana procession as we will still be locking up our youth under this medical marijuana bill. The medical bill will also generate rather than eliminate crime. There will be a mad rush to fraudulently acquire marijuana if legalized for medical use only, which will surely be troublesome. But full legalization will eliminate any and all marijuana fraud and crimes. We have to be careful when we try to legislate morality as the recreational use of marijuana is strictly a moral and ethical issue for educators and the church, not politicians. We should have learned as far back as Prohibition when we created the first mobsters by legislating morality on alcohol and we created the cartels more recently when we declared the War on Drugs. Making medical marijuana legal will surely create organized crime in the CNMI as there is just too much money involved and we know if they will smuggle cigarettes, there is no limit on what they will do to capture the big marijuana dollar.

I am sure by now this body is well aware that marijuana is the least addictive of all drugs on the federal list of addicting drugs, which includes alcohol and tobacco. There shouldn’t be any need for skepticism with marijuana when alcohol and tobacco have killed and are still killing people. There has never been one single death that was attributed entirely to the use of marijuana. Yes, people have died with marijuana in their system but it was something else that killed them. I would like to ask the senators a question: Would you rather ride in a car with a drunk or a person who has just smoked a joint? You don’t have to answer but I’m sure most of you would choose the marijuana driver, which reveals the norm that now exist in our society—marijuana is better and safer than alcohol.

Everyday there is more and more revealing facts and revelations that support the need and realities of legalization. The legalization of marijuana reform in America is now in its 19th year—started by California in 1996—so this is not something new! Since that time there are seven things that I wish to share which continue to push marijuana reform that is supported by the President, the U. S. Attorney General and many members of Congress. Please keep in mind that the large dollar amounts you are about to hear about are for one year so just imagine the wealth and prosperity over time.

1. $699 million in combined sales for the first year in Colorado: This fact alone should be enough proof for everyone in the CNMI to say that we must at least try to legalize marijuana for all uses.

2. $76 million in combined tax and licensing revenue for Colorado: Unlike Colorado, the moratorium I proposed to legalize-IT makes the CNMI’s marijuana industry a government operation in partnership with a private investor. The CNMI will collect 100 percent of the revenues and share only 25 percent with a private investor, which will make the CNMI more profitable than all of the existing states combined who have fully legalized-IT. The great part is the CNMI won’t have to spend a single penny to get this industry started and running if the moratorium/partnership methodology I proposed is followed.

3. Recreational marijuana comprised only 36 percent of total sales: This proves that the local people and our youth are not going to go crazy to smoke marijuana. Medical use is still the main purpose and it was visitors to Colorado who pushed the sales as their tourists industry increased revenues by $1.3 billion. Colorado is now the marijuana capital of the world in one year, taking the title from Amsterdam!

4. More than 500,000 plants were cultivated: This fact should have all the CNMI farmers and those who want to farm piling into the public hearings to promote legalization to fulfill their American dream of becoming a “self-made millionaire”.

5. 2.85 million units of edible retail products were sold: In Colorado, edible marijuana-infused retail products surpassed the sale of medical marijuana-infused products. By the end of the year, edible recreational products had totaled 2.85 million, compared to 1.96 million for the medically infused market. This means locals can start their own product lines of edibles that can be sold at the state-operated stores under the moratorium. The good and exceptional local products will even stand a good chance of becoming an exported product to Guam and the U.S. if marketed properly.

6. 99.2 percent retail homogeneity test pass rate: Of the 2,261 homogeneity tests performed at the retail licensing level, 99.2 percent passed, while 98.2 percent of the potency tests administered on edible retail products wound up passing. The key point being that legally grown marijuana appears to be adhering to strict regulatory growing standards. With the CNMI having a government-controlled operation under the moratorium, there will never be a concern for the growth and use of marijuana and marijuana products that do not meet the CNMI government’s standards.

7. 249 jurisdictions still ban marijuana: Unlike Colorado, which still has 249 jurisdictions in the state where marijuana use is still illegal leading to problems, the CNMI’s moratorium will encompass the entire CNMI. There won’t be any jurisdiction issues.

I can only hope and pray that you will leave Rota with the belief that the CNMI needs to declare a moratorium to experiment with full legalization as a government operation—a new industry for the CNMI with a potential for hundreds of millions in revenues, tourists visitors in the millions, hundreds and even thousands of good paying jobs created over time, and new local businesses producing marijuana drinks and edibles. The CNMI can find a great deal of prosperity with the full legalization of marijuana and I’m asking you senators to at least give the people a chance to experiment with full legalization.

Ambrose Bennett is a former teacher and an advocate for the full legalization of marijuana in the Commonwealth.