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House opposes legalization of marijuana
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Posted on Sep 01 1999
Local lawmakers yesterday signed a resolution expressing their strong opposition against a private initiative to legalize use of marijuana and its byproducts in the CNMI.
Calling the move as deceptive and poorly orchestrated, the House of Representatives urged the community to join together in blocking the effort.
“(A)s a tightly knit family-oriented community, we must unite together to deter any effort by a handful of self-interest group trying to destroy our community by opening doors to illicit drugs in the CNMI,” said the resolution.
Offered by House Speaker Diego T. Benavente, this expression of the House’s sentiment came in the wake of the move by a private organization to push the issue in a popular vote during the November midterm polls.
The resolution said “proponents of this deceptive and poorly orchestrated initiative want to exploit public compassion in order to legalize and legitimize the widespread use of marijuana” on the island.
House members also objected to the attempt to endorse “medical use” of the plant which they said would only serve as a wedge to open a way for “recreational” use of the prohibited drugs.
They questioned its medical benefits and underscored the host of social problems associated with the marijuana addiction, saying both federal and local laws prohibit the possession and cultivation of the plant.
The people don’t want to see the CNMI “become a marijuana magnet” to attract outsiders just to take advantage of its unrestricted use, according to the resolution.
The House “has determined that marijuana is a highly poisonous drug that destroys the health and well-being of our citizens and existing federal and CNMI laws banning the cultivation, possession and use of marijuana must be upheld against a small self-interest group,” it added. (BS)
