MEDICAL use alone is filled with even more challenges than full legalization because it does nothing to stop or lower the marijuana crime rate. We are already learning that medical use alone is creating new marijuana crimes on top of the old ones which is why states are now starting to forego medical use only and instituting full legalization of marijuana like Colorado and Washington (Alaska, Oregon and Washington D.C. have just joined the ranks of full legalization and 8 more states have lined up for full legalization to avoid the pitfalls of medical use only. Legalization is not just about helping sick people but about better controls, addressing the concerns of everyone and the revenues that can be earned from this NEW Industry. [continues 645 words]
MORE than 60 people attended a public hearing on the medicinal marijuana bill Friday evening at the multi-purpose center in Susupe. Of the 27 who spoke during the hearing, 24 said they supported Senate Bill 19-6 while three were against it. Esther Muna, CEO of the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp., said her only concern is the regulation in the implementation of the bill to ensure that marijuana will be used for medicinal purposes only. Anthony Raho of the CHCC board said he supports the bill because he believes it is good for healthcare, but added that he is not speaking on behalf of the corporation. [continues 309 words]
I THINK they should charge a big license fee. I think they should issue a separate application fee, one to grow and one to sale. I think they should require that applicants must have certification. I think they should have age eligibility requirements to grow and sell. Only local residents can grow and sell. They can hire laborers but not buy from another farmer. They can be allowed to have a business partner, but must pay for another business license fee. [continues 165 words]
THE founder of the island's online marijuana legalization group, Kelvin Rodeo, is concerned about retired teacher Ambrose Bennett's proposal to submit a legislative initiative to lawmakers. A legislative initiative must be passed by three-fourths of the members of each house, present and voting. It does not require the governor's approval but must be ratified by voters. "If we want it to pass, we need to, first of all, really ramp up our local efforts to educate the voters of the CNMI about the truth and benefits of cannabis," Rodeo said. [continues 198 words]
RETIRED teacher Ambrose M. Bennett says he is seeking public support for a proposal that will legalize marijuana use in the CNMI. "I must ask our online group to be the ones to present their stance to the people of the island," Bennett said, referring to a group that has a Facebook page calling for the decriminalization of marijuana use in the CNMI. ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/CLC.CNMI/). Bennett said the proposed legislative initiative will be called the Marijuana Sunshine Act, and will aim to legalize the cultivation, sale and use of marijuana in designated areas on island. [continues 107 words]
REPRESENTATIVE Stanley T. Torres, Ind.-Saipan, is not giving up on marijuana. Once again, he has the support of the House Committee on Natural Resources which recommends the passage of House Bill 17-311 which will legalize medicinal marijuana in the CNMI. Torres's three previous marijuana bills also passed the House, but two of them were "killed" in the Senate while the third one remains pending there. According to the committee report endorsing the passage of his fourth bill, H.B. 17-311, it will provide "an affirmative defense for defendants who have been diagnosed with a debilitating medical condition that is severe and resistant to conventional medicine." [continues 189 words]
Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind-Saipan) introduced on the House floor yesterday a bill seeking to legalize marijuana use in the CNMI for medical and recreational use, barely four months since the Senate killed his previous proposal of the same nature. "The legalization, regulation, and taxation of cannabis in the Commonwealth will be the best marijuana law in America," Torres said in a privilege speech at the House session. Torres said he "candidly admit[s]" that his primary reason for introducing the bill is to tax and regulate marijuana transactions in the CNMI, which is in dire financial need. [continues 585 words]
If and when Rep. Stanley Torres (Ind.-Saipan) introduces a medical marijuana bill in the House of Representatives, the Senate can be expected to once again vote it down, according to Senate President Paul Manglona. More than a week after the upper chamber voted no to the controversial bill decriminalizing cannabis use for all purposes in the CNMI, Manglona continues to be adamant in his opposition to the schedule 1 drug-even if its use is limited for medicinal purposes only. [continues 288 words]
Legalizing marijuana for medicinal purposes sounds like a great idea but has anyone thought about how it would actually work here? (Would we become the Commonwealth of the Marijuana Islands?) Where will the plots of land set aside to grow medicinal marijuana be located? There isn't any part of the islands-except perhaps the northern ones-that is remote enough, secluded enough, difficult enough to get to, to be safe from constant thievery. Electric fences would not be enough, barbed wire would not be enough, to keep anyone from stealing the plants allegedly being grown for medicinal purposes. [continues 181 words]
Whether or not one believes marijuana is harmful-or less harmful than tobacco or alcohol-is one thing. Asking people to believe that marijuana is the solution to the CNMI's collapsing economy is quite another. Part 3 of the series of articles appearing under Rep. Stanley T. Torres' name on "why we should" legalize marijuana-and one wonders who actually wrote the series-would have you believe that the answer to all the CNMI's problems would be solved if marijuana possession were made legal. [continues 422 words]
Senators are set to act today on a House measure legalizing marijuana use in the CNMI for all purposes, but a lawyer is urging senators to investigate and research the issues "before taking action on this bill based on uninformed rhetoric and emotion." Attorney Jeanne Rayphand, in a Nov. 15 letter to senators, said she has not found any support for the assertion that the CNMI will lose millions in federal grants should House Bill 17-47, House Substitute 1 is enacted into law, or that the children will be more at risk. [continues 593 words]
The Senate rejected yesterday a controversial House bill that seeks to legalize marijuana in the CNMI for medical and recreational use, but the bill's author said he plans to introduce a separate "medical marijuana" legislation. House Bill 17-47 was killed on a 7-0 vote during a Senate session held at the Northern Marianas College campus on Rota yesterday afternoon. Sen. Luis Crisostimo (D-Saipan), who supports marijuana use for medical purpose, abstained from voting. Sen. Henry San Nicolas (Cov-Tinian) was the only one absent among nine senators. [continues 740 words]
The ongoing debate over the legalization and/or decriminalization of marijuana is perhaps the best, most recent illustration of our society's vast undercurrent of bureaucratic hypocrisy. I for one am relieved to see that at least one local politician has the coconuts to put the issue on the table and dare to suggest that people have the right to "cultivate, possess, and transport marijuana for personal use" bar none. Putting aside the cash crop, revenue implications and the sheer madness of vilifying marijuana while we openly celebrate and promote the distribution of tobacco and alcohol, the idea of criminalizing the existence and use of a natural herb is simply absurd. Why should people have to go to jail for cultivating anything as common as a weed? You see, contrary to popular sentiments, the primary issue at stake is personal freedom-we're talking about a person's ability to put a seed in the ground and grow a plant, not some contrived weapon of mass destruction. The next thing they'll be telling us is that our traditional, herbal medicines are morally wrong-they too are mostly harvested from plants that grow in our soil. You see, cultivation of medicinal herbs and other plants is an inherent right and a way of life for most islanders.some of us still believe in the natural healing powers of Mother Nature. [continues 716 words]
Sen. Luis Crisostimo (D-Saipan) said he will either propose a substitute bill to Rep. Stanley Torres' proposal to legalize marijuana for all purposes, or introduce a new bill that will only allow marijuana for medicinal purposes. But other senators still want to kill the bill during Friday's session on Rota. Torres (Ind-Saipan), at the same time, said yesterday that if the Senate rejects his bill, he will introduce a new one that proposes to legalize marijuana only for medicinal use. [continues 318 words]
Kudos to Stanley Torres for having the integrity and courage to stand up and point out the utter folly of marijuana prohibition, which was foisted on Saipan and the rest of the world by overzealous American bureaucrats. To anyone who genuinely believes that prohibiting marijuana is an effective way to keep it away from teens, have a look at the U.S. government's own data for (illegal) marijuana and (legal) tobacco. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the percentage of 12th-graders who said they used marijuana in the last year has fluctuated wildly between 20 percent and 50 percent, with a figure of 32.8 percent for 2009. [continues 106 words]
People need to remember that marijuana prohibition was passed on the basis of racist fictions and claims of ultra violence. "Marijuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice." (Hearst newspapers nationwide, 1934) "There are 100,000 total marijuana smokers in the U.S., and most are Negroes, Hispanics, Filipinos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing, result from marijuana use. This marijuana can cause white women to seek sexual relations with Negroes, entertainers and any others."-Federal Bureau of Narcotics director Harry J. Anslinger. [continues 105 words]
Pass pot bill and lose funding? Who has any faith that our government can manage and control marijuana? We don't have the resources and the organization. Think of our kids. How many are using it for other than medical? Del Benson, San Antonio [end]
Last of a Three-Part Series In the past two days, we have looked at two of the three main reasons we should seriously consider the case for legalizing adult marijuana possession, use, sales, exports and farming. First, we looked at the constitutionally guaranteed inalienable right to liberty and personal freedom and the unconstitutional power-grab by the federal government that imposes an uneasy prohibition today. Yesterday, we noted that the legalization of pot does not cause crime to increase and instead, legalizing it reduces crime and stops the funding of terrorists and criminals. [continues 1032 words]
A bill legalizing, regulating, and taxing marijuana use for medicinal and other purposes in the CNMI passed the House of Representatives yesterday afternoon, adding to a list of revenue-generating bills pending in the 17th Legislature. Rep. Stanley Torres' (Ind-Saipan) House Bill 17-45 passed on a 10-7 vote with one abstention from Rep. Ray Basa (Cov-Saipan). Two others-Reps. Ray Palacios (Cov-Saipan) and Rep. Ray Tebuteb (R-Saipan)-were absent. Torres' bill allows people at least 21 years old to "possess, cultivate, or transport marijuana for personal use." [continues 628 words]
Senate Poised to Kill Pot Bill Soon Gov. Benigno R. Fitial may sign into law a marijuana bill should it come to his table, but only if the intent is to legalize it only for medicinal use. Just the same, the governor is not optimistic that the bill will pass the Senate. And the governor's right-the Senate is poised to defeat it next week. Senate President Paul Manglona (R-Rota) said yesterday that the Senate will disapprove the marijuana legalization bill in its session next week. [continues 191 words]
Inside Mariana Islands
