Thanks to Pedro and the GOP

First, I want to thank Pedro DLG. Pangelinan and his GOP for the outrageous accusations for me to rebut and inform voters! Secondly, Pedro, please take note of how I spell my name as your spelling is ridiculously funny! Pedro, most locals know you are a diehard Republican and they can connect the dots between your letter and the GOP to me. People are talking about my letters that spoiled the GOP’s game plan to use retirees and it’s obvious you’re trying to discredit and kill the messenger, an old-school tactic.

As for me turning in students caught smoking marijuana, I probably did as it was my responsibility to turn in students for the police, parents, and the principal to discipline. I’m sure their parents wanted me to turn them in as I was doing my job but that does not mean I liked turning them in. I’m sure the average police officer doesn’t want to arrest their friends and relatives but they have to—it’s their job, so stop being ridiculous, Uncle Pedro.

FYI, I didn’t start promoting the legalization of marijuana until our President stated on MLK Day: “We must reform our marijuana laws and stop locking up our youth for something almost every adult has tried.” I am trying to stop locking up our youth by following the lead of the President of the United States so you need to start with the President first as he is the source that is driving all the marijuana reform that is going on in America. Pedro, your GOP has killed three different medical marijuana bills, keeping the CNMI behind the times and in debt while the rest of America is moving forward with marijuana reforms, so who is really the problem? Me or your GOP?

I am so glad we don’t have to make decisions on what you think, Pedro, as I am making my decisions to promote legalization based on two different real-life experiments in Washington and Colorado. The official results of these two experiments tells all of us the indicators point to the fact that the CNMI should and needs to legalize marijuana. This is real-life social, economic and political sciences at work, not your old, outdated thinking, Pedro.

As for your ridiculous claims: 1. Our small population actually makes for better controls and better educational efforts. 2. Tourists from Asia have the highest novelty factor for smoking pot as the overwhelming majority doesn’t have easy access to pot in their country—so we can expect tourists to be fighting for a plane seat and airlines to be fighting for a route! 3. Marijuana crimes went down 700 percent in Colorado and kids did not go crazy smoking; need I say more? 4. I am one of the few voters who actually put our politicians to the test. It’s not personal or vengeance, as it’s every citizens job to hold officials accountable for their actions or lack of action! 4. What have you done, Pedro, as I helped to preserve the local culture with the textbook I wrote and the House of Representative and the Senate gave me a resolution. What about my many predictions that came true that could have helped to avoid social, economic and political problems and my reputation as a recognized scholar by the U. S. Congress and U.S. Department of Education, degrees in Economics, Sociology and Political Science? I guess you conveniently forgot these facts, thinking and trying to help the GOP kill the messenger—me. Never mind, Uncle Pedro.

It was truly ugly and disrespectful of Pedro to inject my wife and family in this but we can expect anything from Inos’ and the GOP retirees! Furthermore, the only money you could count was the $30 million and the $15 million a year for the license that will go to retirees. You aren’t doing anything, Pedro, and someone must push for something that will help the other 14,000 plus voters who are not retirees or do you even care? Pot legalization is our best chance to fix all of our financial challenges and that’s a fact no one can dispute and I welcome any and all debates! Retirees who attack me for telling the truth about the 25 percent and how retirees were being used as drum majors like you Pedro for Inos’ election can only be helped by a psychologist or God so I will respectfully pray for my confused Uncle Pedro and not stoop to calling him names.

Ambrose M. Bennett
Kagman, Saipan